The 2012 issue of Problems and Priorities is published on the heels of the worst . recession since the 1930s. The four years between the last edition published in 2008 and the current edition saw a near collapse of the financial system and housing market, unprecedented government bailouts of the banking and automotive industries, and the enactment of massive economic stimulus programs. The immense magnitude and duration of the recession significantly altered the small-business land- scape along with the problems owners now face in operating their busi- nesses. .
