We're Heading Into The Third Depression

Paul Krugman Conscience of a Liberal May 26, 2011

Last year I warned that we seemed to be heading into the “Third Depression” — by which I meant a prolonged period of economic weakness:

Neither the Long Depression of the 19th century nor the Great Depression of the 20th was an era of nonstop decline "” on the contrary, both included periods when the economy grew. But these episodes of improvement were never enough to undo the damage from the initial slump, and were followed by relapses.

We are now, I fear, in the early stages of a third depression. It will probably look more like the Long Depression than the much more severe Great Depression. But the cost "” to the world economy and, above all, to the millions of lives blighted by the absence of jobs "” will nonetheless be immense.

Brad DeLong points us to Macro Advisers, which has now downgraded its estimates for second-quarter growth. As Brad says, these estimates now suggest that we have now gone through a year and a half of “recovery” that has failed to make any progress toward closing the gap between what the economy should be producing and what it’s actually producing.

And nobody in power cares!

Paul Krugman is an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times.

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The OECD wants to hurt you, for no good reason.

May 25

Third Depression Watch

It's looking clearer by the day.

May 25 //

Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo.

News from upstate.

May 24 //

Where Have All The Mensches Gone?

They're all Gingriches.

May 24 //

Debt Arithmetic (Wonkish)

You call this a death spiral?

From the Opinion Blogs Schott's Vocab Daily Lexeme: Duple

Double, twofold.

Opinionator Prague 1970: Music in Spring

The education of a young composer in a time of revolution.

It's looking clearer by the day.

May 25

Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo.

News from upstate.

May 24 //

Where Have All The Mensches Gone?

They're all Gingriches.

May 24 //

Debt Arithmetic (Wonkish)

You call this a death spiral?

From the Opinion Blogs Schott's Vocab Daily Lexeme: Duple

Double, twofold.

Opinionator Prague 1970: Music in Spring

The education of a young composer in a time of revolution.

News from upstate.

May 24

Where Have All The Mensches Gone?

They're all Gingriches.

May 24 //

Debt Arithmetic (Wonkish)

You call this a death spiral?

From the Opinion Blogs Schott's Vocab Daily Lexeme: Duple

Double, twofold.

Opinionator Prague 1970: Music in Spring

The education of a young composer in a time of revolution.

They're all Gingriches.

May 24

Debt Arithmetic (Wonkish)

You call this a death spiral?

From the Opinion Blogs Schott's Vocab Daily Lexeme: Duple

Double, twofold.

Opinionator Prague 1970: Music in Spring

The education of a young composer in a time of revolution.

You call this a death spiral?

Double, twofold.

The education of a young composer in a time of revolution.

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We're Heading Into The Third Depression

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