by John Pangere, CFA, Strategic Investor
Casey Research
Benjamin Roth had one job to do.
Creditors hired the young attorney from Youngstown, Ohio to collect a bad debt. He’d have to track down the delinquent borrower and wrestle $50 from him.
Business was bad. Money was tight. Everyone was just trying to get by.
Roth, like many other World War I veterans, had a family to support. He did what he had to do to survive during the Great Depression.
Times were so bad, debt collectors like Roth felt bad chasing down delinquent borrowers. Nobody escaped the Depression. Each sign of hope faded into more suffering. Things got worse and worse until people thought they’d never get better. That’s what finally marked the bottom.