The essay presents the argument that the U.S. experienced a shallow economic depression in 2007-9 reminiscent of pre-war economic contractions. The economic data are analyzed to show that the downturn was more severe than any previous post-war downturn. Though technically over, the severity of the depression has led to extremely slow growth and a protracted period of high unemployment.The policies of the 2000s and the concentrated industrial structure they spawned are shown to have contributed to the severity of the downturn and to the slow recovery. The Keynesian and libertarian schools of economic thought are discussed in the context of their roles in offering prescriptions for improving economic growth. The essay critiques the academic economics profession for not predicting the downturn or providing useful prescriptions for solving economic problems.It is shown that China’s policies created a monetary and trade environment in the 2000s for the depression and that they are constraining economic growth as the U.S. exits the depression.A number of policy prescriptions are provided to improve economic growth. These best practices include constraining federal government spending, adjusting and balancing tax, competition, trade and intellectual property policies, promoting investment, education and innovation policies, and modulating Fed monetary policy.