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Main causes of the housing crisis in 2008
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The news mediums, television, radio, print, or social media give information 24-hours a day regarding the economy. Individuals are not so sure about the reports issued on almost an hourly basis that are stating the economy of United States is improving. Many Americans are still without jobs, and do not believe their income can continue to support their families. The cost of purchasing a home is going up in many areas across the country, which is good for the market, but can be bad for the first time homebuyer. Unemployment, expectations, consumer income, interest rates are economic factors that influence individuals behavior and the United States fiscal policy.
The following gives examples of the aforementioned factors current climates. In addition, the summary attempts to identify and evaluate the United States current fiscal policy, demand and supply, and Keynesian and Classical model perspectives so that one has a better understanding of the current state of the United States economy.
Unemployment
During the last year, there has been a steady decline in the unemployment rate. In November 2013, the United States reported a 7% unemployment rate, down from 8.1% in 2012. We can contribute the job creation to the following industries, transportation and warehousing, health care, and manufacturing (United States Department of Labor, 2013). The fastest growing states for an increase in jobs are California, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia within the 2013 year (United States Department of Labor, 2013). The Government will continue to keep unemployment rates down by creating jobs and keeping lower tax rates to give the community opportunities to keep spending.
Expectations
The world econ...
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...11). Failure to extend emergency unemployment benefits will hurt jobless workers in every state . Retrieved from http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=4060
Suchecki, P. (2014, January). Dealing With Volatile Mortgage Interest Rates/Lock in a Fixed Rate Mortgage, paragraph 3. Retrieved from http://www.mybanktracker.com/news/2014/01/08/dealing-volatile-mortgage-interest-rates/
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United States Department of Commerce. (2013). GDP and the Economy. Retrieved from http://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2013/12%20December/1213_gdp_and_the_economy.pdf
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A key to victory this November is the unemployment rate. According to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted in March 8-11, 42% of Americans consider unemployment and jobs as “the most important issue facing the country right now” (Priorities). Although there has been 24 consecutive months of private sector employment growth, the Federal Reserve suggests that the numbers could fade in the coming months. The importance of creating more jobs cannot be stressed enough. No President in the recent era has been reelected with the unemployment rate above 7.2% (Roth). To paint a picture, in late 1982, the unemployment rate topped 10.8 under Ronald Reagan. However, about 36 months later, the rate dropped to 7.2% percent. The drastic drop in the n...
In conclusion, the current macroeconomic situation in the United States is characterized by moderate growth because of better economic conditions that were brought by the events of 2013. The country has experienced moderate economic growth since the 2008 global recession but has shown real signs of momentum. While the country is not concerned about recession or inflation, the rate of unemployment is still a major challenge despite improved consumer and business confidence. As a result, the Federal Open Market Committee or Federal Reserve System needs to adopt fiscal and monetary policy initiatives that help address the unemployment issue and promote high economic growth.
"Unemployment and Underemployment." State of Working America. Economic Policy Institute, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Every few years, countries experience an economic decline which is commonly referred to as a recession. In recent years the U.S. has been faced with overcoming the most devastating global economic hardships since the Great Depression. This period “a period of declining GDP, accompanied by lower real income and higher unemployment” has been referred to as the Great Recession (McConnell, 2012 p.G-30). This paper will cover the issues which led to the recession, discuss the strategies taken by the Government and Federal Reserve to alleviate the crisis, and look at the future outlook of the U.S. economy. By examining the nation’s economic struggles during this time period (2007-2009), it will conclude that the current macroeconomic situation deals with unemployment, which is a direct result of the recession.
"Subprime Mortgage Crisis - A Detailed Essay on an Important Event in the History of the Federal Reserve." Subprime Mortgage Crisis - A Detailed Essay on an Important Event in the History of the Federal Reserve. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
In 2001, after the longest period of economic expansion the country has witnessed historically, the United States of America entered into its tenth recession since the end of World War II. A recession transpires when at least two quarters of a year are plagued by a sharp downturn of the country’s gross domestic product or GDP. More specifically, when a recession occurs, unemployment increases resulting in less consumer spending which is associated with poor business performances. Studies by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) concluded that during March of that year, a pinnacle in business occurrences declared the end of the expansion and the arrival of an inevitable and damaging though short recession. In a state of urgency, the president at the time, George Bush, encouraged Congress to ratify a stimulus package plan which would seek to improve the standing of the economy. The NBER theorized that the infamous act of terrorism which took place on September 11th placed an even greater strain on the already damaged financial system because it wreaked havoc on many markets and businesses such as the airline industry. Many times, a recession occurs due to economic disasters that are enough of an impact on society to disrupt expenditures of large-scale businesses and individual citizen households. Consequently, aggregate demand decreases along with employment. Factors such as international conflicts, technological fluctuations and the endeavors of monetary legislators all contribute to the overall American economic status.
What caused the Great Recession that lasted from December 2007 to June 2009 in the United States? The United States a country with abundance of resources from jobs, education, money and power went from one day of economic balance to the next suffering major dimensions crisis. According to the Economic Policy Institute, it all began in 2007 from the credit crisis, which resulted in an 8 trillion dollar housing bubble (n.d.). This said by Economist analysts to attributed to the collapse in the United States. Even today, strong debates continue over major issues caused by the Great Recession in part over the accommodative federal monetary and fiscal policy (Economic Policy Institute, 2013). The Great Recession of 2007 – 2009 enlarges the longest financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929 – 1932 that damaged the economy.
The United States of America is a great country. It is possibly the longest standing free nation in the history of the world. The founding fathers that constructed our form of government and the Constitution were genius minds. Our republic was founded with an economic system, which we call capitalism. Unfortunately, capitalism is under attack today in the United States. The U.S. must return quickly to a pure capitalist financial system or risk economic ruin.
The United States economy is racing ahead at dangerous speeds, and it may be too late to prevent the return of widespread inflation. Ideally the economy should move ahead gradually and grow at a steady manageable rate. Mae West once stated “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful” and it seems the U.S. Treasury Secretary agrees. The Secretary announced that due to our increasing surplus and booming economy, instead of having an outsized tax cut, we should use the surplus to further pay down the national debt. A tax cut, though most Americans would favor it initially, would prove counter productive. Cutting taxes would over stimulate an already raging economy, and enhance the possibilities of an increase in the rate of inflation. Paying off the national debt would actually help lower interest rates and boost investments, and therefore further increase the wealth of the population, while keeping inflation at bay.
In economics, a recession occurs when there is a slowdown in the spending of goods and services in the market. A recession causes a drop in employment, GDP growth, investment, as well as societal well-being. All recessions are caused by a specific cause, but the Great Recession of 2007-2009 was caused by a crash in the housing market. This crash was triggered by a steep decline in housing prices. All of a sudden, people bought houses because there was an excessive amount of money in the economy and they thought the price of houses would only increase. (Amadeo, 2012). There was a financial frenzy as the growing desire for homes expanded. People held a lot of faith in the economy and began spending irrationally on houses that they couldn’t afford. This led to overvalued estate and unsustainable mortgage debt. (McConnell, Brue, Flynn, 2012).
dropped 10.9% causing the home market to suffer. Individuals who have subprime mortgagees to finance these less expensive homes are often times forced into foreclosure due to substantial rate changes. In affect, the economy faces acontinuing negative cycle of subprime delinquencies that result in tighter credit and lower home prices.17 A worsening of the American housing market will negatively affect the consumers confidence while at the same time worsening the American economy.18
Statistics shows that due to foreclosure murder rates, homelessness, and vacant properties has increased dramatically this year alone. The financial crisis is affecting the health of the economy and is fueling in recession.. This has created much problems for those that are middle class workers and low income families. It target those groups of individuals because their financial background is not up to par to be financially stabled, which later cause them to be behind in payments and things of that nature. Statistics also shows that millions of Americans spend an unexplainable amount of share on their income.
First off the United States economy, in general, needs to improve. Economy is like a domino effect, and now it is hitting the housing industry. Our unemployment rate is up to about 10%. Banks are not prospering like in the past. Tons of Americans are in debt; by the end of 2008 Americans reached a $972.73 billion debt due to credit cards.
In order to assess the current state of the economy, the examination of important economic indicators or variables has always played a vital role in the understanding of the complex economic systems we live in. The analysis of these economic variables studied by many, not only has served as a tool to evaluate the current economic performance of a country, but also has allowed experts to envisage and continue the pavement of an economy's road. Currently, some economic variables have had favorable improvements indicating a general good outlook for the economy for the following months, requiring a further individual analysis and comparisons in order to foresee crisis or successes.
Unfortunately, there are many Americans out of work in today’s current declining economy. Unemployment can be defined as a person who is out of work involuntary, not by choice. These people are looking jobs and available to start work. Being unemployed can be disheartening and deciding what the next step is can be challenging. Underemployed can be described as being inadequately employed, such as a low-paying job that requires fewer skills than one possess. (Daly, Hobijn, and Kwok 2015) Making ends meet can be difficult for one who has been affected by this economy over the past few years. America still has a high unemployment rate since the decline of the current job market. And many Americans are struggling to establish the skills needed for employment, or the underemployed are force to lower they skill to make a profit. America’s economic status has force the underemployed and unemployed to make ends meet with the current jobs available. And last but not least some have also utilized these difficult times to venture into new discoveries to make life hassle free. So, we wonder is Americans giving up in today’s economy or do they settle for lower end job to establish a steady income to make ends.