The Not-so-Great Recession

Luke Earhart
February 18, 2010
Filed under Features, News

Way back in 1956, Nikita Kruschev said to the U.S. that they will “bury you without firing one shot.” “They” seems is a very vague term, but Kruschev may have not only meant Russia, but all of Communism in general. The most vehement example is of China’s economy versus ours only two years ago. China had been putting around $60 Billion dollars into foreign investment; basically, they were buying stock in countries, including the United States. Their savings rate was at 35% compared to our 2.5%. Combined with their trade surplus, China’s savings was up to $1 trillion dollars, and rising. If things had been left the way they were back in 2007, projections were that China would have been a much greater superpower than the U.S. in about 20 years.

This was an obviously fearful time for all in the U.S. and should not be pinned on any one person, for this trend had been present for years, nor does this lead to a partisan argument, as the latest sequence of administrations have contributed to economic instability.

In our President’s recent State of the Union speech, he has shown that he has a defined path on how to get us significantly out the rut. Apart from his hopeful views, the fourth quarter of 2009 has shown that our economic growth has jumped to 5.7%, our fastest pace in six years. Our dollar is again worth more than a Euro, and most experts agree that 2010 will see even more robust growth. The future looks bright.