I'm sure there are tons of times the US had had great economic wealth (sorry, but I don't know much about economics), but which decades or eras were they?

From what I've read the 20s were good until 1929, the 50s were stable, the 60s weren't bad, and the 80s were ok, but then again, i was born in 90, so i've gotten this info from what i've read

20s: it was called the roaring twenties for a reason. ca. 23-29 were excellent
30s: great depression, so the economy sucked
40s: WWII stimulated economy, brief recession after war, beginning of the "golden age"
50s: up until that point the greatest economy in us history
60s: just as good, but overshadowed by vietnam, civil rights, etc.
70s: around 73 entered recessions for various reasons, got real bad around 78 i think
80s: awful early 80s, very good mid to late, late 80s minor recession
90s: pretty good, after 95 most successful period ever
00s: minor recession early on, mostly good throughout decade, "great recession" 07 onwards

20s: it was called the roaring twenties for a reason. ca. 23-29 were excellent
30s: great depression, so the economy sucked
40s: WWII stimulated economy, brief recession after war, beginning of the "golden age"
50s: up until that point the greatest economy in us history
60s: just as good, but overshadowed by vietnam, civil rights, etc.
70s: around 73 entered recessions for various reasons, got real bad around 78 i think
80s: awful early 80s, very good mid to late, late 80s minor recession
90s: pretty good, after 95 most successful period ever
00s: minor recession early on, mostly good throughout decade, "great recession" 07 onwards


Thank you so much! Wow, I am so fortunate to be a child in the 90's.

From what I've read the 20s were good until 1929, the 50s were stable, the 60s weren't bad, and the 80s were ok, but then again, i was born in 90, so i've gotten this info from what i've read


Yeah, the 20's, 50's, and 90's are the most obvious. Everybody who was taught history knows about those 3 decades.

Been on a reading binge of US history in the 20th century lately, so here's my more detailed take for anyone who is interested.

- 2000s economy had a recession early on that actually turned out to be pretty minor.  NASDAQ lost over half it's value and never recovered it, but that was because of the tech bust.  00s economy was pretty decent, though it disproportionately benefited the rich over the middle class and poor.  Economic problems actually started in late 2007, but the "Great Recession" wouldn't start until almost a year later (I recall them debating in late 2007 over whether a recession was actually coming or not).

- 1980s had a terrible economy early on (unemployment in 1982 peaked at over 10%.  Current unemployment is 9.8%.), but got better once you got to the middle part of the decade.  Minor problems near the end.  It should be noted that the gap between the rich and poor widened significantly in the 80s.  The economy was good, but it disproportionately benefited the rich over the poor, similar to the 00s economy.  The 80s were nicknamed the "Greed Decade" for a reason.

- 1970s was absolutely terrible for the most part.  It was the worst decade for the US economically since the Great Depression.  Even the economic recoveries (such as the 76-77 one) were, for the most part, jobless recoveries as employment lagged significantly especially in manufacturing jobs.  Major inflation problems around 73-74 and 78-79 along with the gas shortages of 1973 and 1979.

- 1960s were pretty good for the most part, though a recession in 1960 helped give JFK a bit of a push over Nixon.  Economic growth started to slow down in the late 60s, but recession didn't hit until the 70s.

- 1950s were very good, but there were a couple short recessions in there, each lasting about a year.  Overall though, the economy was good.  Pretty much the height of white middle class suburbia.

- 1930s were the Great Depression and sucked all around.  1940s saw a recovery with WWII then a postwar recession lasting about a year.  The boom hit sometime around 1947.

- 1920s were similar to the 80s.  Terrible recession early on, but got much better mid-decade.  Disproportionately helped the rich.  Farmers actually saw their net worth decline as the decade went on and were already living in poverty when the Depression hit.  If you weren't a farmer, it was pretty good.  Much of our modern culture (movies, cars, popular music) started in this decade.

Generally the 20s, 50s, and 90s are remembered as the best decades economically while the 30s and 70s are remembered as the worst.

Been on a reading binge of US history in the 20th century lately, so here's my more detailed take for anyone who is interested.

- 2000s economy had a recession early on that actually turned out to be pretty minor.  NASDAQ lost over half it's value and never recovered it, but that was because of the tech bust.  00s economy was pretty decent, though it disproportionately benefited the rich over the middle class and poor.  Economic problems actually started in late 2007, but the "Great Recession" wouldn't start until almost a year later (I recall them debating in late 2007 over whether a recession was actually coming or not).

- 1980s had a terrible economy early on (unemployment in 1982 peaked at over 10%.  Current unemployment is 9.8%.), but got better once you got to the middle part of the decade.  Minor problems near the end.  It should be noted that the gap between the rich and poor widened significantly in the 80s.  The economy was good, but it disproportionately benefited the rich over the poor, similar to the 00s economy.  The 80s were nicknamed the "Greed Decade" for a reason.

- 1970s was absolutely terrible for the most part.  It was the worst decade for the US economically since the Great Depression.  Even the economic recoveries (such as the 76-77 one) were, for the most part, jobless recoveries as employment lagged significantly especially in manufacturing jobs.  Major inflation problems around 73-74 and 78-79 along with the gas shortages of 1973 and 1979.

- 1960s were pretty good for the most part, though a recession in 1960 helped give JFK a bit of a push over Nixon.  Economic growth started to slow down in the late 60s, but recession didn't hit until the 70s.

- 1950s were very good, but there were a couple short recessions in there, each lasting about a year.  Overall though, the economy was good.  Pretty much the height of white middle class suburbia.

- 1930s were the Great Depression and sucked all around.  1940s saw a recovery with WWII then a postwar recession lasting about a year.  The boom hit sometime around 1947.

- 1920s were similar to the 80s.  Terrible recession early on, but got much better mid-decade.  Disproportionately helped the rich.  Farmers actually saw their net worth decline as the decade went on and were already living in poverty when the Depression hit.  If you weren't a farmer, it was pretty good.  Much of our modern culture (movies, cars, popular music) started in this decade.

Generally the 20s, 50s, and 90s are remembered as the best decades economically while the 30s and 70s are remembered as the worst.


Well, of course I'm interested, that's why I asked!

- 2000s economy had a recession early on that actually turned out to be pretty minor.  NASDAQ lost over half it's value and never recovered it, but that was because of the tech bust.  00s economy was pretty decent, though it disproportionately benefited the rich over the middle class and poor.  Economic problems actually started in late 2007, but the "Great Recession" wouldn't start until almost a year later (I recall them debating in late 2007 over whether a recession was actually coming or not).



Yeah, I remember that as well. Though it didn't get REALLY REALLY bad until September 2008, I believe that this history books, references, etc. will say that the "Great Recession" Period began in 2007. Technically it wasn't until a little less than a year later, but the mindset, times, etc. all kind of started in late 07, at least from what I remember.

And thanks a lot for that excellent information. I'm a history buff myself so I love reading about all of that.

It started to become bad by the time I quit my 2nd job and we're still recovering from this Great Recession.

I hope the 2010's bring us prosperity...which probably will.

Yeah, I remember that as well. Though it didn't get REALLY REALLY bad until September 2008, I believe that this history books, references, etc. will say that the "Great Recession" Period began in 2007. Technically it wasn't until a little less than a year later, but the mindset, times, etc. all kind of started in late 07, at least from what I remember.

And thanks a lot for that excellent information. I'm a history buff myself so I love reading about all of that.
I agree, things didn't go to complete hell until fall 2008, but the economy of 2007 didn't feel as strong as it did in 2004,2005.

80s: awful early 80s, very good mid to late, late 80s minor recession
90s: pretty good, after 95 most successful period ever

Dpending on where you lived in the the Rust Belt, it was hard to tell if the overall economy every really improved between the early 80's and throughout most of the 90's. In some ways the region has never recovered from the losses of manufacturing jobs experienced in the late 1970's and early 80's. Malaise, indeed. 

All I can say is that I really hope this economy makes a turn fast---it's becoming suicidal.

All I can say is that I really hope this economy makes a turn fast---it's becoming suicidal.



There isn't a quick fix.  As much as they like to say the recession is over it isn't.  The freefall of the economy is slowing but we are still in deep doo and will be there for quite a few years.  The United States is now so in debt to China that China has functionally replaced as the economic superpower, which means it has also replaced as as the political superpower.  We are what Britain was after World War I.

80s: awful early 80s, very good mid to late, late 80s minor recession



  You're forgetting Black Monday - 1987 when the Bull died.  According to figures culled online "The Dow lost 22.6% of its value or $500 billion dollars on October 19th 1987..."

  Woof, that's alot of peanuts..!

^^^ But didn't it rebound like a day later?

^^^ But didn't it rebound like a day later?


Yeah, I read about this in history books and it rebounded like a few days later or something like that. Anybody know?

This is a bit off-topic, but I found this interesting graph on how a stock market does over the course of a decade:

"http://lh3.ggpht.com/_af_JbYu2c4c/Sstojqd5h1I/AAAAAAAABrU/eCr8Z18VJA0/s1600-h/clip_image002%5B9%5D%5B3%5D.gif


For this data, it seems that the "5" year followed by the "3" year are the best performing years of the decade for stocks generally, with the "8", "6", and "9" years still having healthy gains (at least 7%). The worst years are the "7" and "1" years, with losses around 5%, with the "0" year also having a mild loss. The "2" and "4' years only provided very slight gains (2-3% approximately).

^^^ But didn't it rebound like a day later?


  Dunno...

  Yeah, you're right, the market did begin a steady climb almost immediately...