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You had to be living under a rock to miss the topsy-turvy ride the economy took in 2008. The housing market tanked. Credit froze. And giants fell, including the now-defunct Lehman Brothers investment bank, insurance company A.I.G. and the government-sponsored mortgage brokers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, among many others.
In addition, the nation elected a new president who is posed to reverse many of the economic policies of the current administration. The Big Three automakers teetered on the brink of extinction. And the National Bureau of Economic Research finally declared what most people knew and AIER forecasts first began signaling in April 2007—that the American Economy was in a recession. It’s no surprise that increasing numbers of readers visited the AIER website for up-to-the minute economic analysis. Paid memberships, which include subscriptions to our flagship Research Reports and Economic Bulletins, are also reaching record highs. These uncertain times call for the impartial, fact-based approach to events that AIER has provided for 75 years. Three of the five most read Research Commentaries refer directly to the current economic meltdown. “Is My Money Safe” by Research Fellow Pat Norton examines the safeguards for individual bank deposits. “How Did We Get Into This Mess?” by Research Fellow Polina Vlasenko looks that the origins of the housing crisis. And Senior Researcher Richard Ebeling outlined the relationship between central banking and the recently burst financial bubble. Two other web posts by Ebeling also drew high readership. One examined the growth of big government under the Bush administration. The other, “The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving” has become our highest read web post of all time. What we have to be thankful for, he reminds us, is the very economic system that right now is reeling from so many apparent problems. Capitalism and free enterprise created the relative prosperity that the Plymouth Pilgrims celebrated at the first Thanksgiving. Even in these contracting times, Ebeling writes, we still can celebrate the liberty and bounty that is created by a free society. Links to the five top read stories are below. Happy holidays and a healthy, prosperous 2009 from the staff of AIER. “The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving” “Big Government Under the Bush Administration” “Is My Money Safe?” “How did we get into this mess?” “The Financial Bubble Was Created by Central Bank Policy” Not a member? To become a sustaining member of AIER, please click here.
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