Recession

The Successfulness of the U.S. Economic Policies during the 2008 Recession
[Student’s Full Name]
[Institution]
Introduction
“One of the most widely recognized indicators of a recession is higher unemployment rates. In December 2007, the national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent, and it had been at or below that rate for the previous 30 months. At the end of the recession, in June 2009, it was 9.5 percent.” (BLS, 2012). This steep decline in the country’s employment rate, along with the declining GDP created a recipe for a disaster. A disaster that the press and economist all over the world had called “The 2008 Recession.”
However, it is important to note that this recession is not a one of a kind event. On the contrary, the country had experienced recession before. Economist Milton Friedman noted as far back as 1964 that in the American historical record “A large contraction in output tends to be followed on the average by a large business expansion; a mild contraction, by a mild expansion.” (Friedman 1969). This means that in American history some recessions and contractions in the economy are to be expected.
For instance, before 2008 recession, the latest economic shrinkage in the country happened from September 1982 to June 1983 where “unemployment rates peaked at 10.8 percent.” (BLS, 2012) Concerning GDP, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2009), after seeing an increase of 1.3 percent in 2007; the country’s GDP decreased at an …