Graduating into a failing economy

Hi everyone, I've been thinking a lot lately about the status of our economy and although I've been rather optimistic so far I'm still a little concerned about it's future. In terms of how long the recession or whats now being considered possibly a depression is going to last, I don't believe anyone has any definite answers. Historically it seems recessions are inevitable and we are continuously trying to develop methods to avoid or expedite the duration of them. Will this new government stimulus plan really help anything? Is government intervention in the financial market a good thing or a bad thing? Personally I'm not qualified to answer this question otherwise I would probably have another listing under my occupation than "student". Lately as I've been watching the news and the continual layoffs companies are imposing in order to outlast the recession it's beginning to occur to me that maybe this recession may not be over anytime soon. Last week I woke up to MSNBC news relaying the message that between five or so companies, two being Sprint and Caterpillar, were laying off 52,000 employees that day. Not exactly a promising job market to say the least. So my question now is, how long is this going to last? Whats going to change the status of the economy and how is our nation going to deal with the debt we already have by stimulating the economy with more government money which is being obtained from where? As I'm sure it's confusing to many others and not just myself... (I hope) I've been patiently waiting for an answer that is going to explain it all. The problem is I don't believe there is going to be an answer anytime soon and even many economists have admitted, "there's no telling how long this recession is going to last... it could last another year or it could last another few years". At this point in time, I've only considered one methodology to dealing with this issue. I'd like to believe that innovation and perseverance which are two of America's greatest traits will help us outlast and overcome the current status of our economy as well as the opportunity of a new beginning with President Barrack Obama. As many critics are already beginning to say, mostly conservative in my belief, "Obama isn't the Messiah". Well, all I have to say to that is, no kidding! He's a man that decided to enter an election during one of the worst years he could have possibly chosen. So what's he supposed to do? Give up? Whether or not you're Republican or Democrat, the fact is, is that Obama is not going to solve all of our problems which to most was already known pre-election. What Obama is capable of doing however is inspiring the American people as a collective nation during an otherwise uncertain period of time. No one said that Obama was going to be our savior, he himself has admitted his inexperience in economics however as far as coming out of this recession, I do believe in working together and supporting one another without taking into consideration one another's creed, race, religion or political affiliation. It would be nice to finally feel patriotism again and to feel a collective drive to persevere through this time just as we've done in the past. Well unfortunately I've gotta get back to studying but hey... thats my verdict for today!

The American Economy Today