The current recession is clearly the worst economic downturn to hit the United States since the Great Depression. But as these statistics illustrate, the bad economic news in the headlines will have to get far worse before the nation’s plight comes anywhere close to matching that felt by Americans in the 1930s.

Our economy is much more diverse and resilient than it was in the 1920s-1930s, when much of the world was still recovering from the financial burdens of World War I. Moreover, government programs such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance are in place today. They’re a legacy of the Great Depression and help protect Americans against a repeat of that dark era.