When did the first one end?
Why is unemployment still around 8% if our economic recession has already ended?
A more interesting double is our redoing the policies that prolonged the Great Depression.
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At the start of the great depression:
Herbert Hoover created huge public works to encourage employment (see: Hoover Dam) and increased taxes.
The media claimed:
Hoover is a laissez faire capitalist who did nothing to reduce the people's suffering. We need to elect someone who will at least do something that will reduce the peoples' suffering. We need to elect someone who will do the opposite of what Hoover did. We need someone who will raise taxes on the rich and start lots of government funded make-work programs.
And then:
FDR raised taxes and massively interfered with the economy. That was
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At the start of our current depression:
George W. Bush bailed out banks and other large companies to save the economy.
The media claimed:
W is a laissez faire capitalist who did nothing to reduce the people's suffering. We need to elect someone who will at least do something that will reduce the peoples' suffering. We need to elect someone who will do the opposite of what W did. We need someone who will raise taxes on the rich and start lots of government funded make-work programs.
And then:
Obama massively interfered with the economy (see: Obamacare, Cash for Clunkers, etc) and threatens to raise taxes on the rich. So of course, our depression
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Sound familiar?
Update: Carnivore pointed out that our real current unemployment numbers are the same as they were during the great depression.
Don't forget that unemployment today is around 20%, calculated the way it used to be during the Great Depression. See Shadow Stats:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts
FDR ran as a fiscal conservative and accused Hoover of spending too much. Of course, he was correct, but once he got in, FDR outspent Hoover.
That's very sadly all true.
DeleteSounds familiar.
DeleteWhat makes now even worse than the depression, despite the lack of soup lines, is that back then we had a strong currency that could be deflated. It didn't do any real good, but it certainly helped FDR politically given that he was able to use the depreciating dollar to fund massive public works projects and help secure more popular support. In many ways it isn't so different from what Obama did. FDR himself won reelection with unemployment numbers in excess of 15%.
ReplyDeleteWe're worse now in many ways.
DeleteIts truly amazing that FDR and Obama got re-elected. I guess people really like politicians who "do something" even if that something makes everything worse.