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"Unusual Store Prices in Many Local Stores Tomorrow" article from the Greenfield Daily Recorder newspaper
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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The economic crisis of the Great Depression caused many businesses to fail and in turn, massive unemployment. By 1933, two years after this article appeared in the Greenfield Daily Recorder, an estimated 25% of the national labor force would be unemployed. These conditions created a vicious cycle of problems. Increased unemployment led to a decline in consumption as unemployed workers had little or no money with which to purchase goods. A decline in consumers' purchasing of goods and services led to further business failure which led, in turn, to further unemployment. Greenfield, Massachusetts, a small industrial city in the north western part of the state, tried a novel tactic to increase retail sales for businesses struggling to unload inventory which remained unsold because of a decline in consumption. Seventy-five stores advertised merchandise for just a dollar in hopes of enticing now thrifty consumers to buy. If consumers purchased goods, it was hoped, this would initiate a virtuous circle of increased demand that could stimulate production and, hence, increase the need for workers.
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