United States. Nearly 15,000 American banks fail: 40% of the total. Money reserves collapse dramatically. The contraction in prices (deflation) pushes interest rates above 10%, crushing every indebted business or household. This will lead the government to take draconian measures and follow the policy suggested by Keynes: heavy government investment in gigantic public works, financed by loans, and the abandonment of the gold standard. In Germany and the Soviet Union, this will also lead to ambitious development and rearmament plans.
