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Some people are losing their jobs because they were in sectors that had too much malinvestment ( housing). But many other are losing their jobs simply because
by bokonist 18y ago
Some people are losing their jobs because they were in sectors that had too much malinvestment ( housing).
But many other are losing their jobs simply because of friction caused by the increase in demand for money. All contracts ( wage contracts and debt contracts) were written assuming an easier availability of money. When a deflation occurs, many businesses go bust not because they were "malinvestment" but simply because their contracts were denominated in 2007 dollars, not 2009 dollars. The correct response is to print money to prevent the deflation, thus removing the need for every business in the country to into bankruptcy court to get out of their debts.
Before the Great Depression, many people wanted cars and they could afford cars. After the great depression, the production of cars were even greater. Why did the factories need to stay idle during the great depression? Idle automobile factories were not a result of liquidating malinvestment, they were a result of collateral damage from deflation.