Not the most sophisticated approach CNN could have taken to assess the gravity of the economic slump. This story looks mainly at whether rhetorical allusions to the Great Depression are accurate. It makes for a quick, easy story, but it's a shallow pursuit. Far more valuable would have been a disinterested comparison of this and previous recessions with the goal of showing what changes and trends brought us to where we are now. As it stands, this is about busting an historical analogy that's turned into a cliche. Lots of expert chatter and not enough factual evidence.

An interesting article that seems to debate weather this is a depression or a recession. Why this matters the author doesn't explain. I do believe we are more prepared now than then, but who knows, maybe we will be hiding our silver and gold cards under the bed.

This is an interesting but very light weight story that makes some comparisons between today's economic situtation and previous recessions and depressions. Rather than marching through comparisons in an organized manner, it presents relatively isolated statements from sources.

A competent story that comments on the current economic situation, with experts noting that times are different now than in 1929 and that comparisons with the Great Depression are being made out of historical context. However, one economist cited at the end of the article notes that this downturn is more ominous than any other: "This is a perfect storm: banks failing, stock markets declining and commodity prices dropping." Hard times, he says, are ahead.