Economic fundamentals in the period leading to the Great Depression of the 1930's were the same as those that led to the 2008 financial crisis. Understanding those underlying similarities is essential to preventing a repeat of the Great Depression. Policies implemented in this country in the 1930's, and adopted in Europe and Japan after World War II, brought long term growth accompanied by financial stability, low unemployment, and low inflation. We need a clear understanding of what happened to disrupt that growth, and what it would take today to have it re-established. This book empowers the reader through explanations that build economic literacy and provide clear discussion of fundamentals that led to the Great Depression and continue today in the Great Recession.