The scripts are available for printing and for sound bite identification.
Go to http://www.wichita.edu/newsline to get the current Wichita State University Newsline. If you cannot access the Newsline at the Web address above, contact Joe Kleinsasser at (316) 978-3013 or joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu. Newsline cuts may be edited to suit your needs. If you have additional questions for Craig Miner after listening to the WSU Newsline, please contact him at (316) 978-7740 or craig.miner@wichita.edu.
Background:
Throughout its history, America has experienced numerous recessions, and, of course, the Great Depression. As experts debate when the current recession might end and how deep it will get, Wichita State University business historian Craig Miner says we're slow to learn from the lessons of history.
Voice wrap:
Announcer: There's a saying that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. That appears to be the case with the current recession, according to Craig Miner, a business historian at Wichita State University.
Miner: "We don't study history very well. The masses never did, but the experts probably should. And the pattern is so similar. As late as the savings and loan crisis of 1983, that we ought to have learned, and this ought to have been avoidable."
Announcer: Miner says the major cause of these recessions is an overextension of credit and too easy credit. While experts hope the recession will end sooner rather than later, Miner says there are no guarantees, and that economic recovery could take years. This is Joe Kleinsasser at Wichita State University.
Sound bite #1
Miner says boom and bust cycles are common in U.S. history. The sound bite is 22 seconds and the outcue is "other direction."
Miner: "The major cause of these is always overextension of credit and too easy credit. And then people get overextended and fail. And you go into a bust cycle, which they used to call these panics, and it's really not a bad term because people get desperate. And then we go to the extreme in the other direction."
Sound bite #2
Miner explains the similarity between this recession and previous recessions. The sound bite is 13 seconds and the outcue is "they spend for."
Miner: "The basic similarity is that there was a great bubble and easy credit, and people encouraged to spend, and consumer confidence and relative ignorance about the things they spend for."
Sound bite #3
Miner compares the banking industry during the Great Depression to the current recession. The sound bite is 18 seconds and the outcue is "most of them."
Miner: "In the Great Depression, banks failed easily and there were runs on banks. Now, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was a response to that in the Depression, slows that a little bit because people feel they are protected up to $250,000, and that's enough for most of them."
Sound bite #4
Miner says there is no guarantee that the current recession won't lead to a real depression. The sound bite is 21 seconds and the outcue is "to a real depression."
Miner: "Probably there is more effective government intervention than there was before, including the great bailout, but we've always tried bailouts. But there is no guarantee that the stock market crash and the financial crisis will not lead to a real depression."
Sound bite #5
Miner says economic recovery could take years. The sound bite is 25 seconds and the outcue is "can happen again."
Miner: "Classic economics kind of argued that depressions and recessions were self-correcting, that is, things got a lot cheaper and suddenly people would begin to buy stocks again and buy things, but the Great Depression showed not necessarily. The stock market went down about 80 percent, and unemployment remained at about 25 percent for nearly 10 years, so this could happen again."