"Does the Great Depression have any significance in the current financial crisis?”

Well, I do believe that the “Great Depression” definitely has a significant impact on the current financial crisis? Reasons being: we as human beings never truly learn from our mistakes, people go crazy and start to become greedy when it comes to that silly little material possession known as MONEY. History seems to be repeating itself, but in just a different context and there was no Wall Street Crash. During the “Great Depression” there was great turmoil, such as closing down of huge companies because of the recession that hit when the Wall Street Stock Market Crashed in October of 1929, people could not handle the stress and pressure and so they committed suicide. The fact of not having any money or being unemployed and then becoming homeless and having to start living in poverty. This was just not the life for the people of America or anybody for that matter. Is this the life for us as South Africans, or is there something that we can do about it? These are just some of the effects. I believe that slowly we as South Africans could very easily slide into that same slump. As of the fact of big companies closing down and smaller companies just disappearing into thin air. The inflation and exchange rates are increasing; the cost of living is way beyond the general income into the average home every month. But the greatest significance to me would be the idea of the United States of America having an economic boom and developing so rapidly in the early 1920’s and slowly starting solely to depend upon technology, brought about this major problem. We as South African today seem to have this same problem, we cannot live without technology and after having it all this time and then having it just taken away like that can drive a person to go over edge. So do you believe as a Matric History student that the “Great Depression” of the 1920’s in the United States of America has any significant impact on the current financial crisis that we are experiencing?