There are two things you should take care of before opening a Roth IRA: 1  Tuck away at least $1,000 in a savings account for emergencies. 2  Pay off your credit card debt. At the very least, make a significant dent in your debt and have a plan for its elimination.
David O. Whitten, Auburn University. The Depression of 1893 was one of the worst in American history with the unemployment rate exceeding ten percent for half a decade.
That question may be the most important in economic history. If we can answer it, we can better grasp what perpetuates economic stagnation and what cures it. The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. From 1931 to 1940 unemployment was always in double digits. In April 1939, almost ten years after the crisis began, more than one in five Americans still could not find work. On the surface World War II seems to mark the end of the Great Depression. During the war more than 12 million Americans were sent into the military, and a similar number toiled in defense-related jobs. Those war jobs seemingly took care of the 17 million unemployed in 1939.