Harry Truman: A Recession or Depression?

Posted by admin on Thursday, January 11, 2018

Harry Truman Money Quote saying it’s tough to tell when tough economic times turn to terrible depression – but one way to tell is if you are still employed. Harry Truman said:
 

 

It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose your own — Harry Truman

 

 

In this quote, former U.S. President Harry Truman seems to be distinguishing between a recession and a depression based on personal experience and impact. By saying a recession is when one’s “neighbor loses his job” while a depression is when “you lose your own,”

Truman is suggesting that recessions affect communities from an outside perspective, while depressions touch individuals directly through their own job loss or financial hardship. The quote implies recessions are more broadly felt economic downturns, whereas depressions represent severe recessions that hit home on a personal level.

Overall, Truman appears to be employing a folksy saying to highlight how the severity of economic conditions can be understood differently depending on whether one is directly impacted through one’s own circumstances or observing impacts on others.

Birthday: May 8, 1884 – Death: December 26, 1972

Categories: work Tagged:depressionharry trumanjobrecession