The Current Global Recession

Last night when I couldn't get back to sleep I listened to the BBC news for a while (paying attention to the news is a rare event for me), and it scared me to death. While it is clear that this is the most severe recession since the depression, is it really so apocolyptic, or is it just that the news media's ability to scare us has improved a great deal since the last severe recession back in the late 1970's (you young'uns under 50 have never experienced a real recession as an adult).Just wondering what other people think concerning how severe this recession is.--Percy

I just read the March issue of The Atlantic last night. It had a long article about the long-term effects of the current recession on various regions of the United States: It speculates that New York and other similar metropolitan regions like Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles would fare pretty well. New York will maintain its status as financial capital of the world.The rust belt will get rustier as the manufacturing sector of the US economy continues its decline, with manufacturing jobs continuing to flow overseas. For those outside the US, the rust belt is the central part of the US around Chicago, Detroit, maybe as far east as Pittsburgh, etc., that is dominated by car and other heavy manufacturing.The southwest will also suffer, particularly cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas. I'm not sure I followed the rationale on this one.Suburbia will also take a hit if, as the author speculates, the government deemphasizes policies that encourage home ownership. He reasons that private home ownership is actually a bad thing because the illiquidity makes workers less mobile, and it's a poor allocation of resources and capital.--Percy