The economy is what progresses societies. It provides us with luxuries and necessities alike, yet, 2022 and 2023 have raised major concerns for individuals. 

The economy is one of the most important factors in running a country, as it’s the central force behind any thriving nation. Money is the catalyst that backs all of our technological advancements, our military, our government, and the prospering lives of all Americans. Without a strong economy, a country is doomed to fail.

The beginning of our economic concerns dates back to early 2020. America was thrust into uncharted territory when COVID-19 was introduced to the world. When Biden was elected president in 2020, the entire government didn’t seem too worried about the economy and focused more on solving the covid-19 crisis. 

Unfortunately, the economy was almost completely destroyed during the worldwide lockdown. All economic activity died down, and the economic engine was halted. Fortunately, humanity was able to pull through, and when lockdowns began to open up, the economy started to work again. Of course, minor shutdowns were common, but the world seemed to look as if it would return to its original state. 

The major problem was that the economy started to rebound to its original state - but way too quickly. The government began pouring trillions of dollars into the economy in an attempt to revive the circulation of money. However, this plan backfired magnificently. Trillions of extra dollars in the economy didn’t just increase economic activity; it also raised the price of goods through inflation - a word and concept that almost every person in America has heard about at this point.

Since the number of goods and services was low compared to the massive amount of money that America now sat on, inflation raged rampant - and for over an entire year, the average (monthly) inflation rate was around 5 to 7 percent. For comparison, the aimed inflation rate for every year is 2 to 3 percent. Since the inflation rate was so high, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to bring down inflation - since raised interest rates decrease economic activity. They raised the interest rate by a drastically large amount - from 0% to 4.75%. However, inflation was and still is a massive problem, despite all the efforts put in to try to lower it by the Federal Reserve.

In short, the economy's circumstances created many problems as a whole but placed a huge burden on individuals to make ends meet financially.

Here is what we have learned. The world is unpredictable; One minute, we are functioning as a society, and the next, we are in an unthinkable situation. Whether it’s COVID, or something else, individuals need to prepare for the worst. In the case of the pandemic, leaders did their best to make decisions that would help keep our world safe. This came at the cost of an individual's finances. So, it is imperative that people always have backup plans and emergency funds. Creating a financial plan that includes crisis planning should be considered a necessity, not a luxury. 

On a larger scale, we need to analyze why so many people were destroyed financially during this pandemic. For this, we need to start at the root of the problem. Children in middle school and high school do not learn about finance or money. Of course, some districts have implemented lifestyle courses, and others have financial pathways, but collectively, we don’t focus on finance as we do for math, history, or English. As a result, there are many adults who lack the knowledge to effectively create sound financial plans. If we educate the youth, we will be much more prepared for inevitable global catastrophes.