People weren’t complacent. The late 1920s saw an overvalued stock market, real estate speculation, and poor farm maintenance. That was obvious. It was well-documented. It was discussed. But so what? None of those things are a big deal in isolation. It wasn’t until they happened at the same time, and fed off one another, that they turned into the Great Depression. The stock market falls, the boss loses his savings, he lays people off, those people default on their mortgage, and the bank goes under. When banks fail, people lose their savings. When they lose their savings, they stop spending.
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