Bank Holiday

[runningman]

So when will the next Bank Holiday be??

I think sometime soon the way the stock market is going down. Of course they call it a holiday but in reality it just means you can't get money out of your account for about a week. If you still keep all of your money in the bank you are crazy.

Did you know FDR had a bank holiday? Just some more comparisons between Obama and FDR since Obama likes to compare himself to FDR.

Do you also know that during the great depression 13 million americans were unemployed and today there are around 25 million people unemployed? So you shouldn't pay to much attention to the % and actually look at the number.

[Steve Graham]

Re: Bank Holiday

the population is probably A LOT higher than it was back then right?

123 million or so compared to over 300 million

[runningman]

Re: Bank Holiday

yes you are right.. But that doesn't make it any better does it??

25 million people roaming your country with nothing to do and no money is a bad combination.

[toasty]

Re: Bank Holiday

25 million people roaming your country with nothing to do and no money is a bad combination.

Sooooo, what apocalyptic fate can we expect to befall us as a result? Don't leave us hanging!

[runningman]

Re: Bank Holiday

No.. No..No.. I am not going to give away the ending. I am not saying the world is going to end. I am just saying that you better have enough cash on you to be able to live for about 2 weeks just in case..

Why can't you guys just comment on whether you think there will be a bank holiday or not??

[toasty]

Re: Bank Holiday

Why can't you guys just comment on whether you think there will be a bank holiday or not??

Hadn't even occurred to me. Are there any [serious] commentators other than you that view this as a realistic possibility?

[Steve Graham]

Re: Bank Holiday

yes you are right.. But that doesn't make it any better does it??

25 million people roaming your country with nothing to do and no money is a bad combination.

All I'm saying is you said don't pay attention to the percentage look at the numbers.. well its a lower percentage isnt it? I'm not saying its good, it's just funny how you come accross as the all high and mighty USA Doomsday authority sitting up there in Canada as if it's Utopia, lol, that's all. I get a kick out of the threads you feel the need to bring up daily.

and they arent roaming around the country doing nothing, they are all standing on street corners asking for money from people that do still have jobs

[runningman]

Re: Bank Holiday

Don't take my criticism as if I am saying Canada is perfect. I have never insisted on that. I just wanted to move to the US really bad but don't think I will for at least another 2-3 years.

[Steve Graham]

Re: Bank Holiday

I'd love to go back to England and be with my family, but it's just not feasable right now

[runningman]

Re: Bank Holiday

that sucks. My dad is from England and he for some reason never wants to go back. Not sure why though. I think when he left he had a bad taste in his mouth.

[floridaorange]

Re: Bank Holiday

I'd love to go back to England and be with my family, but it's just not feasable right now

I hear ya Steve...that is how I felt last year at this time and I did move back (from california to Florida) to be with my family. Interesting how the most important things in life become so obvious during slow economic periods.

[Steve Graham]

Re: Bank Holiday

that sucks. My dad is from England and he for some reason never wants to go back. Not sure why though. I think when he left he had a bad taste in his mouth.

i want to, i miss a lot besides the family, i just dont see it working financially

[Mariner1]

Re: Bank Holiday

Don't take my criticism as if I am saying Canada is perfect. I have never insisted on that. I just wanted to move to the US really bad but don't think I will for at least another 2-3 years.

why bother?

[Miroslav]

Re: Bank Holiday

So when will the next Bank Holiday be??

I think sometime soon the way the stock market is going down. Of course they call it a holiday but in reality it just means you can't get money out of your account for about a week. If you still keep all of your money in the bank you are crazy.

First of all, let's be clear on what a bank holiday is, how FDR used it, and why he did so. Understanding these things is key to understanding what is likely to happen with bank holidays in the future.

When FDR came into power, there was a massive string of bank failures under way and strong public mistrust in banks evidenced most particularly in the form of bank runs. FDR instituted a bank holiday to basically determine which banks were fiscally solvent and which weren't. The idea was to close/consolidate banks which couldn't survive anyways, and better recapitalize banks that were viable, thus cutting out the deadwood and enhancing peoples' confidence in the banking sector. It actually helped a lot, although it was by no means a silver bullet for economic recovery.

However, you should keep in mind that back then a little organization called the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation did not exist; the FDIC was created under FDR's administration with the aim of guaranteeing funds in the banking sector, thus negating a lot of the traditional issues that led to runs on banks. Second, we have technology and infrastructure for monitoring and adjusting bank liquidity that didn't exist in the 1930s. Thanks to that technology, Obama's folks could most likely do most of what FDR's administration did without even having to close down the banks - and do so preemptively before bank runs are likely to occur.

This is not to say that bank runs and bank holidays can't happen; nothing is impossible. But even if they do, the stock market won't be the best predictor to look at; you should look at things like benchmarks for interbank lending and liquidity, the prevalence of bank runs, the prevalence of bank failures, etc.

Did you know FDR had a bank holiday? Just some more comparisons between Obama and FDR since Obama likes to compare himself to FDR.

Shockingly, yes. I think most of us on here had US history in high school.

Do you also know that during the great depression 13 million americans were unemployed and today there are around 25 million people unemployed? So you shouldn't pay to much attention to the % and actually look at the number.

While the actual number is important, you really should pay significant attention to the %. Our society today has completely different levels of productivity, output, investment, and wealth generation than it did back during the Great Depression. Percentages allow you to better consider the approximate impact of negative economic developments relative to the productive capacity of the economy. In other words, we may have twice as many unemployed people as in the Great Depression, but we also easily have more than twice the productivity, significantly more consumption per capita, much greater population and job pools, much greater pools of investment, etc...all of which help us better weather negative economic impacts than our predecessors could back in the Great Depression. This is why economists consider relative percentages, and not just absolute numbers.

[Shpira]

Re: Bank Holiday

one word...well actually two words
Cash machine