#panic of 1893

[furryalligator]

Source: http://twitter.com/GhostSignsNYC/status/1056499576641859585

The Bowery Savings Bank in #Chinatown was built in grand fashion to assure people their money was safe after the Panic of 1893. The Grand St facade is just as ornate as this #Bowery view. #ghostsign #ghostsigns #oldsign #oldsigns #history #ny #nyc #downtown #newyork #newyorkcity pic.twitter.com/nxFWyLmfsN

— GhostSignsNYC (@GhostSignsNYC) October 28, 2018

see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowery_Savings_Bank

[classicpoetry]

Richard Cory Whenever Richard Cory went down town,  We people on the pavement looked at him:  He was a gentleman from sole to crown,  Clean favored, and imperially slim.  And he was always quietly arrayed,  And he was always human when he talked;  But still he fluttered pulses when he said,  ‘Good-morning,’ and he glittered when he walked.  And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -  And admirably schooled in every grace:  In fine, we thought that he was everything  To make us wish that we were in his place.  So on we worked, and waited for the light,  And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;  And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,  Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Edward Arlington Robinson, The Children of the Night

[jonathansalembaskin-blog]

Taxing Conflicts

Today a Republican raised taxes.

It took the American federal government almost 100 years before it levied its first personal income tax, which was imposed on this day in 1861 so it could pay for the Union’s efforts to fight the Civil War. It was a flat…

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[oosik]

"The 1880s were a period of remarkable economic expansion in the United States, an expansion that eventually became driven by railroad speculation. Railroads were over-built, with expenses that could not be covered by revenues. New mines flooded the market with silver; its price fell. Farmers, particularly in the wheat and cotton regions, suffered from low prices.

A series of bank failures followed, and the Northern Pacific Railway, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad failed. This was followed by the bankruptcy of many other companies; in total over 15,000 companies and 500 banks failed (many in the west). According to high estimates, about 17%-19% of the workforce was unemployed at the Panic's peak. The huge spike in unemployment, combined with the loss of life savings kept in failed banks, meant that a once-secure middle-class could not meet their mortgage obligations. Many walked away from recently built homes as a result. From this the sight of the vacant Victorian "haunted house" entered the American mindset."

[nybydzine]

The Panic of 1893 and Today

The haunted Victorian house legend came from the Panic of 1893 which is considered the second worst American depression rivaled only by the Great Depression of the 1930s.

This was the zenith of US railroad construction coupled with huge immigrant population growth settling the cleared-out Great Plains.  These industrious farmers would need to get their products to market.

But other factors such as low market prices and a flood of newly mined silver coupled with bank funded over-speculation created an imminent crash.  Substitute real estate for railroads and we have a very similar economic situation today.  The difference now is the existence of unemployment insurance and welfare programs.

With the 1893 Panic, overextended banks went under and millions lost their jobs and savings.  Suddenly taking care of a young family and paying a mortgage for an unsellable house made no sense.  Families simply walked away and this began the empty, haunted Victorian house legend.  Unemployment ranged from 12-18% for over 5 years.  There were no government safety nets back then so people had to rely on family or private charities.

It's only a matter of time a new horror movie set in an empty cul-de-sac full of foreclosed McMansions will grace movie screens.

[criminalmimes]

i'm bored but i don't like history class

idk what to do and i don't wanna take notes so i think i'll write a story about lizzie and molly who i know are online right now

so

once upon a time

there were these two girls and one was lizzie the other was molly

lizzie and molly were sitting in class tumblin when all of a sudden, the teacher was like ... and the class was like "wait why isn't she speaking?" then the window blew open and a squirrel army popped in like "hey guys join our protest because president cleveland is being a shit and thinks our jobs will come back when they feel like it" so then molly and lizzie were like "ok squirrels" and climbed out the window

and fritsch was like wtf where are they going

but then lizzie and molly followed the squirrels and then they climbed into the hole in the tree which is their home and it turned out that the hole was actually a magical passageway to like this room filled with food and games and slides and trampolines and stuff

so then they ate

and then they rode horses

but then the squirrels were like shh you can't tell anyone about this place so they pinky swore and it was all good

then molly and lizzie went home and when people asked where they were they were like idk

the end

i hope you liked it guys

i actually mixed in some of the lesson in there because i'm a genius