Since America recovered from its Great Depression of the 1930's, the economy has been constantly fluctuating (Fig. A.). Although the Great Depression remains the worst economic collapse in American history, there have been innumerable dips and rises. When the stock markets around the world crashed on October 19, 1987, many Americans were worried that something as colossal as the Great Depression could possibly be beginning (Fig. B.). Yet, we avoided something similar to that and recovered. Again, during the housing market crash of 2006 and 2007, the economy took a big hit, but within 10 years, the market is back and booming again. Although the ups and the downs of the economy aren't detrimental to all people, some are stuck in the endless cycle of poverty (Fig. D.). Some citizens don't even get the opportunities needed to obtain an education and a job.
Fig. B.- Commonly referred to as "Black Monday", when stock markets around the world crashed on October 19, 1987, people in America and around the world were concerned that something as big as America's Great Depression could possibly occur again. Not only were the stock markets in America hurt, but this quickly spread around the world, like the flu.
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Fig. C.- "It was the beginning of 2007 when our business was having some problems. And then the market went south." - Mike Heger, a homeowner in a Las Vegas suburb when the housing market started to crash. As the market started to crash, people began to lose their homes, and they couldn't do anything about it- they just had to sit there and watch.
Fig. D.- "Poverty American style persists, and so does our ambivalence. It's that ambivalence, I guess, that causes the richest country in the world to tolerate so much poverty and inequality, decade after decade."- John Biwen, writer of After Welfare. Even though our economy has its ups and its downs, it still inherently hurts many people. Some people are born into poverty and can never get out because they never had the opportunity to go to school and get a job.