Bad economic news washed over everyone's news pages last week. Unemployment inched higher. The Dow Jones plummeted. Automakers officially entered the Congressional bailout sweepstakes. It seemed like, with the exception of low gas prices, that all news was bad news last week.

Bad tidings can take their toll on us regular Joes who worry about paying bills, keeping jobs and buying groceries.

I worry as much as the next person, but I sometimes wonder how survivors of the Great Depression view our current state of affairs. Do they sympathize? Or do they cast knowing glances at one another that say, "Been there, lived through that and you don't have it half as bad as we did?"

In fact, the Great Depression was a catastrophe far more severe than the current downturn. For example, last Wednesday and Thursday, the stock market plunged. The Dow Jones fell by 873 points over that two-day period, landing at 7,552. In 1929, after the stock market crashed on Oct. 24, it bottomed out at 224 a few weeks later.

The unemployment rate today stands at about 6.5 percent. But during the depths of the Great Depression, the unemployment rate spiked at 24.9 percent. Almost one-fourth of America's work force didn't have jobs.

Another troublesome problem for today's economy is the banking industry. And, while several financial companies have applied for federal bailout money, that pales in comparison to the 10,000 banks that failed during the Depression.

But bad times are more than just percentages and pie charts. Economic realities affect real people, and a sudden loss of security damages families and individuals.

Today, we may opt to eat at a lower-priced restaurant, forgo dessert and appetizers. At the grocery store, we may buy cheaper cuts of meat and reach for the generic brand rather than the name brand.

Until the credit markets recover, we might put off buying a new car - even one that gets good gas mileage. This Christmas, our kids might receive shirts and shoes rather than iPods and Wiis.

Still, the choices we make today must seem silly to Great Depression survivors.

These are folks who planted a sizeable garden, then canned their homegrown products later that summer. They picked fruit from trees and bushes, figured out ways to store it through the winter, and used it to make jams and preservatives.

In the 1930s, many people couldn't afford to shop at a grocery store, and eating at a restaurant was unthinkable. Instead, they ate things like fried mush or parched corn. They hunted not for sport, but for food. They fished. They trapped. They stood in line for bread or soup.

These days, older citizens may worry about retiring as they see their investments evaporate and read about deficit spending threatening Medicare and Social Security.

Was there such a thing as retirement during the Great Depression? Back then, when an able-bodied man stopped working, it was likely because his employer went out of business. Or, he died.

No one should deny the seriousness of today's economic struggles. But you have to wonder if those who lived through the Great Depression think that we're just a little spoiled.

Times may be tough, but we've got it pretty good compared to back then.

Steve Booher's column runs on Monday.

He can be reached at steveb@npgco.com.