After not playing baseball for 3 years in college because of having a total hip replacement, and then coming back to play professionally once I graduated, and get the opportunity to play on a team like the @wcthunderbolts we had in 2007 and 2008...it was like a dream come true. This was a night I will never forget.
During this period, the average expansion was approximately 58 months, and the average contraction was approximately 11 months. Expansion is the default mode of the U.S. economy, and the average expansion time period has continued to average longer over time.
Economic contraction ends when the Fed lowers interest rates and increases the money supply, because it becomes inexpensive for companies to fund their growth through bank loans. As companies increase their operations into the expansion phase of the business cycle, they also hire employees and increase salaries. This gives consumers more money to spend, and their purchases of houses and cars, at low interest rates, fuels the expansion of the economy.