* The population of the U.S. in 1930 was 123,202,624.
* The population today is 303,669,478.

* There were a lot of farmers then (approx. 7 million), and they were all over, and they grew many crops as a hedge against something wiping out one or two of them.
* There are about a half-million family farms left today; most of the mega farms that supply our food are single-crop farms, and those single crops can extend for many miles. What does your area grow?

* The concept of the government solving their problems was fairly foreign to them.
*Today, the vast majority of Americans expect their governments (federal, state, county, city) to solve their problems.

* More than 15 million people, a quarter of the nation’s workforce, were unemployed.
* Extrapolating that to this point in time, we would be talking about 75 million people out of work.

* 2.25 million boys and girls ages 10–18 worked in factories, canneries, mines, and on farms.
* BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

* It was second nature for neighbors to help each other.
* Most people today probably don't recognize their neighbors, and don't know their names.

* Most people had at least some problem-solving abilities.
* People today don't know how to change the battery in their car door-opener.

* They didn't have welfare, or the mentality that goes with it.
* Just what do you expect third-generation welfare receipients to be willing or able to do?

* A lot of production was relatively localized.
* What is made in America that is actually useful? And how far is it from you?

* Most goods were made in the U.S.
* Most of our goods are made in China, Indonesia, and Taiwan.

* People knew how to make-do; nothing was wasted.
* A U of AZ study indicates that 40-50% of US edible food never gets eaten. Over $43 billion worth of edible food is estimated to be thrown away. The average American disposes of over a ton of waste per year, every year.

* They lived real lives.
* We have television.

The government/Federal Reserve has been juggling finances and cooking the books for a long time. It will be interesting to see how long they can keep the situation afloat. If they can't, we will probably regress somewhere between 150 and 10,000 years. THAT is what I call the S hitting the F.

And I think the "Great" Depression will be a Sunday School picnic by comparison.

Cynical Sue