As thesaying goes, those who do not learn from their mistakes are destined to repeatthem. This has been the case with themes of war, politics, and industry, and itis certainly true now of the economic situation in which much of the world nowfinds itself. There is a great deal that can be learned from the events of thepast, and financial analysts use data gathered over hundreds of years topredict economic trends. This most recent downward turn in the economic marketis certainly not the first and definitely not the worst in the nation'shistory. When economists look back over the past decades in American history,practically every generation has experienced a recession, to one degree oranother. There have even been periods of time in which has worseneduntil a depression resulted. What our nation's leaders have learned from thosetight economic times will hopefully be of value in the years ahead, as our currentrecession begins to loom heavily over the country like a black cloud.

You areprobably familiar with the Great Depression which began in 1929 after aturbulent market day sent the stock market crashing through the floor. FromOctober 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, to November 13, $30 billion dollarsvaporized from the United States economy as a direct result of fallingstock prices. Because of the devastating impact of this single event, changingthe lives of millions of American's practically overnight, there are nowsafeguards in place to protect against a similar happening. We are able to takelessons from hardships of the past that help us deal with and overcome those ofthe present time and future. Because the United States government operateson a free market society structure, government intervention into themarketplace is generally an unacceptable practice. The government only seeks tointervene when absolutely necessary.

When the mortgage fiasco crippled the American economy, the government began takingaction in the form of infusing money into the economy using tax rebate checksin the amount of around $600 per taxpayer. They were also able to offer cash tobanks to guard against another massive stock market crash. Cash can also beinfused by lowering the interest rate set by the Federal Reserve Bank, known asthe Fed.

Anotherway that the government has learned to effect change and stave off recession isthrough bailout packages offered to high level corporations who are faced withthe imminent possibility of declaring bankruptcy. When these companies are introuble, Americans suffer at every financial level. The government and itspeople look to the past to decide what actions may keep America frombeing placed in a position of hardship like the Great ever again. Inevitably, theway that the economic policies are established during this latest round offinancial difficulty will be studied from many angles in future decades, as wecontinue to learn from mistakes that are made and successes that are achieved.