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How did the Great Depression affect people's lives?
Domino effect: businesses fired workers, decreasing wages (paychecks), decreasing buying power (people can’t buy as much), and decreasing prices, businesses failed. Failed businesses laid off more workers continuing the downward spiral. Unemployed borrowers were unable to pay off their bank loans. Loss of confidence in the banking system led many people to try to withdraw whatever savings they had. Many banks then failed. People lost what little they had been able to save.