Grant Fritchey (9/3/2009)

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That's a tough question. There are so many comparisons these days between our current financial situation and the Great Depression. I don't think most of the comparisons hold up, but we are in tight financial times, as they were then. In the book "Forgotten Man," a great history of the Depression, the statement was made, "The depression wasn't so bad if you had a job." Since upwards of 70% of people were employed, even during the depression, most people did OK. My wife and I just watched a documentary, Girl 127. It was all about how a young girl was raped by a studio exec and it was covered up by the studio with the help of the doctors, lawyers, and even the girl's mother, all of whom owed their living to the studio during the depression. The one guy that really stood out was the parking lot attendent who witnessed the rapist running away. He helped the girl, filed a report with the police, but then, the studio offered him a better job with a lifetime contract. His story changed. Everyone thinks they would act in a moral fashion in any given situation, but until you're there... you never know.