2009 Great Depression Article

Q: Do you think that the country will ever go into another Great Depression?
A: Yes, of course. There are always ups and downs to an economy and the outliers are bound to come up especially in an unstable and unpresictable economy. Also, there are great costs to everything that is done by the government for the people, so therfore we can expect great taxes and/or a depression that will hurt the people that the government is trying to help and protect.

Q: What sacrifices might you and your family have to make in order to deal with a depression? How would things change if your parent(s) lost their job(s)?
A: Obviously, if my family were to be hit with a depression, we would have to sacrifice some things. The first thing to do is to get bargains and try to conserve on certain things such as heat, electricity, water usage, and food intake. The next thing that we would do is to eliminate the non-essential such as electronics, and jewlery. Then, selling other non-essential items such as toys or some furniture would help pay the bills. If my mom had lost her job, then we might move into a family member's home (all of us). Also, we would try to find another job to pay the bills.

Q: How would the world look in a 21st century depression according to the author? Do you agree or disagree with him?
A: He said that the depression would have a large impact on our healthcare, child care, and education. He said, "The lines wouldn't be outside soup kitchens, but at emergency rooms". There would be many abandoned houses and many overcrowded ones. It would be less aparent but still have a large impact on our society. The unemployed would be filling their free time with watching TV. I agree with him that this is what a modern day depression would look like.

Simpsons assignment

1.) I believe that the Simposns episode was more accurately portrayed than fictionally comedic. Some elements that showed its accuracy were: speakeasies were the name of the bars that were operated illegally; the mafia payed off the cops; the cops hung out at the speakeasies; the speakeasies overcharged for their liquor; alcohol companies tried to make non-alcoholic beverages with little success; FBI brought in agents who were less easily corruptable, and Prohibition was widely unpopular. Also, the episode accurately portrayed the mood of the 1920s- the people were having a good time while at the speakeasies, and the FBI was struggling to support Prohibition. Some of the fictional comedy included: bootlegging business used bowling balls and elaborate tunnels to transport alcohol; speakeasies hid their booze with a lever that turned the entire room; the law for Prohibition was found to have never been enforced before and they decided to do so now, and the punishment for bootlegging was catapultation. I thought that the elements added for comedy did not interfere with the historical fact, so the fact outweighed the fiction.

2.) If I were to change the episode: I would change all of the scenes in which Homer was transporting the booze with the bowling balls and replace them with ones similar to when Homer was transporting them by cart and hid them. Another scene that I would change would be when the mayor decided to enforce the Prohibition law. I would replace it with the mayor telling the President about the craziness and the President making the law. This would also affect the end scene when Homer was catapulted, so I would just change it to him going to jail. I wouldn't change the scene when Moe pulled the lever and it changed the speakeasy into a pet shop because I though that was really funny.

Should Citizens Lose Their Freedoms When War Has Struck?

The country during a state of war is unstable and could fall at any moment. In order to prevent a collapse of the country, a sense of structure and order is needed. Never more than during a time of war do people need to be structured and organized. Sometimes if its people resist cooperation, a country needs to enforce the control that it has on its people. This is "for the good of the people" even if they do not see it that way. It's similar to children; you cannot allow children to do whatever they want all of the time because they need guidance and they do not know what they want. The people of the United States cannot be allowed to do whatever they want to do in a time of war because the government is in need of help. The government cannot fight a war and allow its people to do what they want to do at the same time. This analogy is similar to a parent (government) cannot work (go to war) and take care of a newborn (people) at the same time, so it needs a babysitter (suspension of civil liberties).