Great Depression 2: The Reckoning

For many years, my friends and I have joked that sequels always seem to be called "Blah Blah 2: The Reckoning." We looked it up once and found out that there has actually never been a sequel with this moniker. Regardless, we've gotten a lot of mileage out of this joke. People are always talking about the Great Depression these days; even I've been trying to get a copy of "The Grapes of Wrath". So it's only natural that we might consider this current financial crisis, now officially a recession (retroactive to one year ago), a sequel of sorts. People playing fast and loose with their money leads to people losing their homes. An inept president unable to solve the problem, with a charismatic, visionary successor. It's all there.

So it was only natural today that, upon opening up the New York Times this afternoon, I could not help but burst into laughter seeing the title of a story.


That's right folks, Great Depression 2: The Reckoning is here.

Or, at least, there. I've yet to actually meet someone really worried about the effects of the crisis here in China. We read in the news of the big steps the government is taking to spur domestic spending in the face of declining exports, but nobody seems to really be too nervous. People here are pretty big savers, and using a credit card is rare. From that side of the crisis, people here are in good shape. The bigger problem is simply the wake from other economies, and even that will affect other parts of China much more than Shanghai.

So, anyone looking for an escape... I've got a spare bedroom.