Uncle Sam’s Credit Rating Story Is Serious News: But Does it Matter?

2025-02-19

The 1929 Stock Market Crash led to the largest economic recession in modern world history. Today’s octogenarian Americans knew of the vast devastation started by the stock market crash from first hand witnesses—their parents.All Americans suffered. Those with assets lost all or a substantial portion of their portfolio. A third of workers lost jobs. Tens of thousands of firms went broke, including banks, retail stores and manufacturing plants. New business slowed to a trickle. But none were hurt more than farmers who could not pay their loans and lost their farms. Once lost, it was impossible for them to re-acquire the land necessary to run a successful family farm.The major causes of the 1929 stock market crash were easy money policies instituted by the Federal Reserve System (Fed) during