Read the passage and answer the question.

during the great depression, economists believed recovery would occur when spending increased. since spending was low, economic theory held that savings should be very high. this would create a surplus of capital and drive down the cost of loans. the pure ease of expansion should have brought economic activity back up to healthy levels. yet, the great depression dragged on.

people had no savings to invest in the market and, in fact, had drawn down their savings just to survive. there was no free capital to invest, and without income or savings, people could not support existing operations. as a result, there would be even fewer people earning income and yet more people with dwindling savings.

which answer choice best explains the type of unemployment that resulted from the great depression?