The Great Recession, or the 2008 recession was a global economic downturn that devastated world financial markets as well as the banking and real estate industries. The crisis led to increases in home mortgage foreclosures worldwide and caused millions of people to lose their life savings, their jobs and their homes. It’s generally considered to be the longest period of economic decline since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The financial crisis began in 2007 as a result of the collapse of the U.S. housing market. Many reports say that the crisis was avoidable. One of the reasons for its occurrence was the government’s failure to regulate the financial industry. This failure to regulate included the federal government’s inability to curb toxic mortgage lending. Next, there were too many financial firms taking on too much risk. The shadow banking system, which included investment firms, grew to rival the depository banking system but was not under the same scrutiny or regulation. When the shadow banking system failed, the outcome affected the flow of credit to consumers and businesses. Other causes included excessive borrowing by consumers and corporations and lawmakers who were not able to fully understand the collapsing financial system.“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s
needs, but not every man’s greed.”
-Mahatma Gandhi