2009 Year in Review

A year ago, our economy faced a collapse bigger than any since the Great Depression. Job losses reached 700,000 per month, plunging home values threatened millions of families’ financial futures — and as President Barack Obama and a new Congress took their oaths of office, our country braced itself for the hard times to come.

A year ago, our economy faced a collapse bigger than any since the Great Depression. Job losses reached 700,000 per month, plunging home values threatened millions of families’ financial futures — and as President Barack Obama and a new Congress took their oaths of office, our country braced itself for the hard times to come.

The year began with a moment for the ages, the swearing in of the first African American president in U.S. history, a milestone in which all Americans could take pride. But President Barack Obama took his place in history alongside some less auspicious historic milestones, most notably, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. A look back on this year has to start with the lead story, the economy. And what a difference a year has made.

When 2009 goes down in the history books, it may well become known as the year the era of big government returned — and failed.