What We Can Learn from the Great Depression

What can we learn and how can we survive a severe recession? Here are some tips from the past:

Stay out of Debt & Pay off Debt

We can prevent our country from the worst of financial debt by simply staying out of future debt and paying off debt. This is hard to do because the broker we are the more likely we are to run up credit. Therefore, it is imperative that we curb our lifestyles and decide what do we need versus what do we want. This does not mean depriving ourselves of necessities such as food and medicine but rather taking a careful look at our expenditures and our needs versus our wants.

Be Generous

Chances are we have what our neighbor needs or wants to buy on credit. If we are simply generous with the extra items laying around our home, we can help others prevent from going into future debt, de-clutter our homes for a healthier lifestyle and feel good about the process. This recession is the perfect time to "Love thy neighbor as ourselves." We can bind together and help one another during rough times and we will survive better than we would alone.

Remember that "A Workman is Worth their Wages"

Just because you may be able to get help from someone who will work for pennies for you doesn't mean you should. Remember a workman is worth their wages and you owe your neighbor a fair wage for a job well done. If you don't pay a fair wage (even if you are able to get labor cheap), it is as if you have stolen from your neighbor. Make sure that your neighbor is able to provide for his or her family after they do a service for you.

I like the way this author put it, " The true answer [to surviving the recession] is a strong working class that believes in unity and not underselling each other. Alas, the USA has a long and tragic history of slavery. And the legacy of this culture divides the nation and half loves slavery and enables wretched working conditions and thinks the road to wealth is via cheap labor." http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17667.htm

We should do our best not to undercut one another but pay a fair and reasonable wage to our neighbor for the services rendered.

Therefore, the key thing to remember to both earn money and help our neighbor is "Give unto others and you would like them to give unto you."