1 O U T L I N E O F T H E U. S. ECONOMY 2 0 0 9 E D I T I O N [...]... world The average American worker produced more than $ 92 , 00 0 worth of products and services in 20 07 This is nearly 20 percent more than that of the average of a dozen leading European countries and 85 percent higher than that of China, according to the U.S Conference Board U.S productivity expanded by an average 2 percent a year from 20 00 through 20 06 , twice the gain in most of Europe In one study of... percent of the world’s population, the United States is responsible for 20 percent of total economic output The U.S gross domestic product per person was nearly $45 ,00 0 in 20 07 , compared to a worldwide average of $11 ,00 0 The economy poured out $ 40 billion a day in goods and services that year, drawing its fuel from the knowhow of the 1 50 million Americans who make up the workforce Capital provided more... vital backing from European financiers Major U.S cities shot up in size, attracting immigrant families and migration from the farms A devastating depression shook the country in the first half of the 1 890 s, forcing some 16 ,00 0 businesses to fail in 1 893 alone The following year, as many as 7 50, 000 workers were on strike, and the unemployment rate reached 20 percent Farmers from the South and West, battered... cars, and barbed wire fencing to enclose rangelands all appeared In 18 90 , the time required to produce 100 bushels of wheat had dropped to just 50 hours In 19 30, a farmer with a tractorpulled plow, combine, and truck could do the job in 20 hours The figure dropped to three hours in the 198 0s Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, introduced in 1 793 , revolutionized cotton production by mechanizing the separation of... was dominant Nine of 10 Americans worked on farms, most of them growing the food their families relied on Only one person in 20 lived in an “urban” location, which then meant merely 2, 500 inhabitants or more The country’s largest city, New York, had a population of just 22 ,00 0 people, while London’s population exceeded one million But the handful of larger cities had a merchant class of tradesmen,... States “continues to surprise… It continues to renew itself.” S E C R E TA R Y C O N D O L E E Z Z A R I C E U.S Department of State 20 08 The financial crash of 20 08 brought a sudden, traumatic halt to a quarter-century of U .S.- led global economic growth The final consequences of this shock for the U.S and world economies remain uncertain at this writing But in the midst of the crisis, Americans chose... largest U.S home mortgage firms and bailed out leading banks and a major insurance company, actions that would have been politically unthinkable before the crisis An initial $ 700 billion bank rescue plan won bipartisan support in the U.S Congress Since the start of the global crisis in 20 08 , U.S government agencies and the central bank had pledged an astonishing $ 12. 8 trillion—equal to nearly the entire U .S.. . largest U.S public power producer, Roosevelt’s efforts to adopt the TVA model in other parts of the country were shelved by growing political opposition and by World War II American industry and offices mobilized to fight Germany, Japan, and the other World War II Axis powers The last U.S.made automobile of the war years left its factory in February 19 42 In its place, industry produced 30, 000 tanks in 194 3... businesses backed Republi26 cans Each side hoped that electoral victories would secure more favorable treatment But global economic developments intervened With the recovery of industry in other nations, U.S industrial unions generally declined in membership At the end of World War II, one-third of the workforce belonged to unions In 198 3, it was 20 percent By 20 07 , the figure had dropped to 12 percent, with... Italy by Benito Mussolini, and many feared the United States was approaching a breaking point politically The New Deal The inability of President Herbert Hoover (1 92 9 – 193 3) to meet 22 demands for economic relief set the stage for the 19 32 election of Democrat Frank-lin D Roosevelt as president and the enactment the following year of the first of his “New Deal” economic programs The president, known . Story 1 30 The United States, in its democratic way, faces up to immense economic challenges. C O N T E N T S 09 - 20 546 OutlineEconomy_new _ 09 121 0 12/ 28 / 09 11:46. 1 O U T L I N E O F T H E U. S. ECONOMY 2 0 0 9 E D I T I O N