What started out as a housing problem in a few states a coupl eof months ago has now exploded into a full-fledged recession, with a majority of states now in or dangerously close to recession. At the end of September, 30 states were in recession, according to Moody's Economy.com. Back in March, only five states were in recession: Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada.Even in the last month, the picture has grown more concerning. By the end of the summer, 27 states were in recession and a few were still expanding. But now, Moody's has determined that Hawaii, Minnesota and Utah have fallen into recession. Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire and Texas are also no longer classified as expanding economies. They now are at risk of falling into recession as well. Only Alaska has a still-expanding economy. (The District of Columbia, with its government and government-related jobs, also has an expanding economy.)
The causes of a recession along with aspects of implications such periods have on communities, states and nations are aspects of the revised Hoboken social studies curriculum currently under development. One improtant lesson is the cyclic nature of economics and it's impact on social structures.
