10 Lessons We Can Take From People Who Lived Through The Depression -
If you've got it, use it
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
Wanda Bridgeforth was hit hardest on the home front as a child, when her parents couldn't afford to keep her with them. At one point she lived with 19 people -- in a six room house. It was in these situations that she learned to conserve what she had, and reuse what she found.
"And they say, 'Well, what are you going to use this for?' and I say, 'I don't know, but I'm going to use it,'" Bridgeforth told NPR.
Today, individuals and companies would be wise to heed this advice. We can find resources in unlikely places, whether in the the scrap heap or the ideas of the unpaid college intern.
Review the facts
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
While some figures put the number of people unemployed as even higher than the numbers during the Great Depression, the widespread feeling of despair -- not to mention the sheer numbers of actual starvation, poverty and unemployment -- was much higher during the 1920s and 30s than during the aughts.
1929 to 1932 saw a 50 percent drop in national income, and in 1933, almost 25 percent of the work force was unemployed. There were food shortages to go along with thousands of people filing for bankruptcy. Today's numbers, frankly, speak more to recession than depression.
Grow your own
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
While small farmers suffered greatly during the Great Depression, those who could generate their own food in small gardens were able to supplement their diet with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Urban subsistence gardens -- on rooftops, in vacant lots, or backyards -- became particularly useful during this era. There were over 20,000 of these gardens in Gary, Indiana alone. Self-reliance, especially when it comes to feeding yourself, is an invaluable tool, recession or not.
Cash, not credit
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
Debt is a bit of a dirty word for people during the Depression. It's an idea that carries over into today.
"Save and share," Rubilee Craig, 5 years old in 1932, advised. Not a big fan of credit cards, she also said that ""Gold and silver gives you a reserve, and sometime maybe the paper money won't be good."
While we don't suggest throwing away your paper money, taking on more debt in times like these might be digging yourself deeper than you can pull yourself out.
If you have to, move on
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
Some cities and states have higher unemployment rates than others; same goes for certain businesses. The Great Depression was a time for striking out a new path if the old one turned up short.
While some stories are less successful than others, such as Paul Satko's journey up to Alaska in a wooden ark, the lesson remains: don't be afraid to go where the opportunity is, rather than waiting for it to come to you.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/lessons-from-people-who-lived-through-the-depression-2011-8#if-youve-got-it-use-it-1
If you've got it, use it
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
Wanda Bridgeforth was hit hardest on the home front as a child, when her parents couldn't afford to keep her with them. At one point she lived with 19 people -- in a six room house. It was in these situations that she learned to conserve what she had, and reuse what she found.
"And they say, 'Well, what are you going to use this for?' and I say, 'I don't know, but I'm going to use it,'" Bridgeforth told NPR.
Today, individuals and companies would be wise to heed this advice. We can find resources in unlikely places, whether in the the scrap heap or the ideas of the unpaid college intern.
Review the facts
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
While some figures put the number of people unemployed as even higher than the numbers during the Great Depression, the widespread feeling of despair -- not to mention the sheer numbers of actual starvation, poverty and unemployment -- was much higher during the 1920s and 30s than during the aughts.
1929 to 1932 saw a 50 percent drop in national income, and in 1933, almost 25 percent of the work force was unemployed. There were food shortages to go along with thousands of people filing for bankruptcy. Today's numbers, frankly, speak more to recession than depression.
Grow your own
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
While small farmers suffered greatly during the Great Depression, those who could generate their own food in small gardens were able to supplement their diet with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Urban subsistence gardens -- on rooftops, in vacant lots, or backyards -- became particularly useful during this era. There were over 20,000 of these gardens in Gary, Indiana alone. Self-reliance, especially when it comes to feeding yourself, is an invaluable tool, recession or not.
Cash, not credit
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
Debt is a bit of a dirty word for people during the Depression. It's an idea that carries over into today.
"Save and share," Rubilee Craig, 5 years old in 1932, advised. Not a big fan of credit cards, she also said that ""Gold and silver gives you a reserve, and sometime maybe the paper money won't be good."
While we don't suggest throwing away your paper money, taking on more debt in times like these might be digging yourself deeper than you can pull yourself out.
If you have to, move on
Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection
Some cities and states have higher unemployment rates than others; same goes for certain businesses. The Great Depression was a time for striking out a new path if the old one turned up short.
While some stories are less successful than others, such as Paul Satko's journey up to Alaska in a wooden ark, the lesson remains: don't be afraid to go where the opportunity is, rather than waiting for it to come to you.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/lessons-from-people-who-lived-through-the-depression-2011-8#if-youve-got-it-use-it-1
No comments:
Post a Comment