Surviving Economic Depression in the 21st Century

During the Great American Depression of the 1920's, unemployed Americans came up with new and innovative ways to make money to put food on their tables. Whole families, including younger siblings went out to work to earn a few extra pennies so that a loaf of bread could be put on the table. In an era where labor laws, local zoning ordinances, etc. were non-existent in America, many entrepreneurs, young and old, went into action to earn a little cash.

By today's standards most of these endeavours would seem trivial in terms of how much money was earned. For example, people sold odds and ends on street corners in flea market fashion, suburban households took in extra boarders, and many an egg selling operation was created. Teens and children even chipped in selling papers, working a movie houses, making special deliveries, and painting houses. The odd jobs that people took all brought in a couple of extra dollars, and all of the money was contributed for the good of the family.

With the current economic downturn, many of these tried and true methods to make money for the employed in the 1920's will not be successful today. Too many laws and regulations, local ordinances have been passed in the the 80 years since the last depression. The tax man is also bound to get in your way. There are now new ways to make a few extra bucks in this electronic age, one only needs to know where to look.

People that are hard earned for cash will need to turn towards the Internet for 21st century money making opportunities. The "dotcom" crash of the late 90s has passed, and there has been a resurgence of interest in making money online. The Internet has evolved to the point that individuals can become more involved in making money. Gone are the days of laying down big capital for Internet start-ups. Those companies that have weathered the online economic storms of the past are now well entrenched players. New and innovative companies are starting to come into the fold that empower the individual take control of their own Internet destiny. For example, someone can create a simple blog site, with well crafted posts can also display advertisements from leading servers of advertisement media. They are able to take part in receiving a portion of the revenue earned by these larger companies. All it takes is a little time and commitment to make money online.

Internet marketing has changed drastically within the past few years. Social networking and social bookmark sites have taken marketing to the average person, and depending on how much time they wish to devote to their own marketing cause will dictate how much money there is to be made. If you have teenage kids then you may have a special advantage in this new age. Your kids have their finger on the pulse of social network sites like Twitter, Face Book, and Stumble Upon. They will know what is hot. Be sure to take advantage of their knowledge.

The downside, is that there are many more scam artists on the Internet that will be looking to take advantage of this situation. Use your judgement when researching your idea, as you will find that it has most likely already taken root somewhere on the network. You should also never pay to have your idea marketed by someone else, and you should never pay anyone to teach you about what you plan to do. If it is not a well established and respected company making the offer, then it is most likely someone promoting a nefarious scheme.

There a things about spirit and cooperation that can be learned from the old days. In addition, many depression era folks recall working for an honest day's wage, only accepting and giving handouts when it was an absolute necessity. The government did very little to provide monies to affect families. And when it finally started doing so, it invested in programs that actually brought people into the workforce and paid them a wage. So far, government bailouts are hand-outs that are not following in the same spirit bringing people to work. They just reward bad management. It will be up to the individual to change this, and one major player will be the Internet.