Many see moral uplift as a result of recession

Recessions, before the Great Depression, were often viewed as good things. Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon, even after the crash of 1929, expressed the common view of the time: “It will purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living will come down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up the wrecks from less competent people.” “Liquidate labour,” he thundered, “liquidate stocks, liquidate the farmers, liquidate real estate.” Though the current Treasury Department seems a bit more compassionate, the idea that a recession is good lives on. A Conservative leader in Britain was forced to apologize last week for extolling the health virtues of an economic decline. “Recession can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families.” With less money and perhaps no work, people don't generally splurge on cigarettes, booze, and unhealthy food. And, with nothing to do all day, they do hang around the house more. While recessions can be occasions for moral renewal, “They’re also about fear and diminished expectations,” writes David Brooks. “The cultural consequences of recessions are rarely uplifting.” Crime rises, and birthrates fall. The ranks of the poor swell.Marriages fall apart.” “Recessions tend to raise divorce rates,” says Nobel laureate and University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, economist Gary Becker.

Source: TOI, Page 12, Dated: 7-Dec-08