tldr: American life in 1942 offers many lessons we can apply to our lives today. The U.S. had just entered World War II in December of 1941 and was just beginning to adjust to the economic burden of war. The Great Depression ended less than 10 years prior. Thanks to the New Deal and Keynesian economics,…
American life in 1942 offers many lessons we can apply to our lives today. The U.S. had just entered World War II in December of 1941 and was just beginning to adjust to the economic burden of war. The Great Depression ended less than 10 years prior. Thanks to the New Deal and Keynesian economics, Americans began experiencing a surplus of work, income, and supplies to buy. That would all change, of course. Just like COVID-19 forced life in America to change in March of 2020.
Government Intervention
During the 1940s, the U.S. relied primarily on war bonds purchased by U.S. citizens to finance the war. In March 2020, the U.S. government passed a $2 trillion stimulus package, allocating a portion to give $1200 to each adult and $500 for each child. This vastly differs from the government mandates of 1942. The U.S. economy now relies on its citizens being good, debt-creating consumers.
The U.S. government of 1942 used propaganda posters, USO events, and news commercials at movie theaters to transmit its messages. These messages encouraged people to buy war bonds, plant ‘victory gardens’, ride-share to reduce fuel consumption, turn in used metal cans and the like to make ammunition, and to not waste food, all in support of its deployed military globally. Combined, these actions not only supported government initiatives but also created self-sufficient, independent citizens.
Grow a Victory Garden
Most neighborhoods in average cities and towns across the U.S. lack gardens in 2020. Approximately 29% of Americans ages 50-64 years garden, however, from ages 30-49 the number drops to 21%, and from ages 18-29, the number drops significantly to 11%. Consider the food shortages the COVID-19 pandemic created. There will likely be further shortages as the pandemic lingers. The best way to mitigate food shortages is to produce your own. Gardening isn’t easy to learn. However, there are vast resources available online, in magazines, and in books, if you want to learn. Check out our article on starting seeds indoors to get started. You don’t need much land to garden, either. Check out container gardens if you live in a condo or apartment.
Can Your Own Food
If you choose to garden, or buy food in bulk, learn to can food. Since around 1825, canning food extends the shelf life of perishable food by keeping it in air-tight containers. Many more Americans canned food in 1942 than in 2020. Canning food is easy. Typically you boil the food in the can or jar which kills all the bacteria and seals the can, preventing new bacteria from entering. Canning uses metal cans, glass jars (think Mason jars), foil, or plastic pouches (Mylar) and boxes. Boiling food generally changes the taste and texture of food like meats and vegetables, but not enough to ruin it.
Don’t Waste Anything
One of the best ways to save more and spend less is to stop wasting food and other consumable products like paper, glass, and plastics. Consider every item you waste initially cost money to purchase – money that took time and effort to earn. Most manufacturers engineer products using planned obsolescence; items we own intentionally do not last long. Extend the “stop waste” mentality towards more expensive items like cars, televisions, appliances, etc. Always try to fix something before throwing it away. Most often there is a video tutorial online or a blog or forum post with detailed instructions written by someone who experienced the same issue and resolved it themselves, inexpensively.
Invest Your Money
Rather than encouraging people to create more personal debt, the U.S. government asked people to spend 10% of their income buying war bonds to support the cost of World War II. In my lifetime, the U.S. government has never recommended saving and investing my money. They’ve bailed out car manufactures and asked Americans to buy new cars with stimulus money. They’ve bailed out banks so we can take out more loans. They’ve bailed out big businesses who turned around and used the money to buy back stock in their business to gain more control. The middle class continues to erode due to this economic meddling. Don’t fall victim to this new way of American life. Live frugally. Work hard to earn more money. Don’t create debt. Save your money and invest it wisely.