FILE - In this May 9, 1938 file photo, people stand in line for their portions of a federal surplus of potatoes and cabbages in Cleveland. Nearly a century later, the U.S. economy is all but shut down, and layoffs are soaring at small businesses and major industries. A devastating global recession looks inevitable. Deepening the threat, a global oil price war has erupted. Some economists foresee an economic downturn to rival the Depression. (AP Photo, file)
March 24, 2020
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Buddy, can you spare a dime? Echoes of '30s in viral crisis?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The imagery floats in sepia-colored photographs, faintly recalled images of bedraggled people lined up for bread or soup. Shacks in Appalachian hollows. Ruined investors taking their lives in the face of stock market crashes. Desperation etched on the faces of a generation that would soon face a world war.