CrackerJax
New Member
I'm sure you have all grown up and heard over and over again, that no matter what else...FDR did end the depression. If I heard that once, I heard it a hundred times..... This also ties into a statement often heard that it was WW2 which helped pull us out as well...which is a very small consolation prize since 100's of thousands had to die to bring it about.... if it's true.
But is it actually the truth of the matter? The answer is an unequivocal NO. In fact, it is just the opposite. So let's look at the period of US history when Keynesian economics was in full swing.
It's the same with the WW2 comment.... the answer is NO, the war did NOT pull us out of the depression and any positives were very limited. Building tonnage of war equipment is an awful way to bring about prosperity. You can't drive a half track down a highway to get to work.... it goes on the scrap heap typically as soon as peace thankfully arrives.
So, let's just take a look at FDR and his policies and how they played out.
The NEW DEAL: FDR loved letters apparently.... we have the great new agencies of AAA, NRA, WPA and also the TVA. All of these agencies failed to produce SUSTAINABLE employment. They were VERY EXPENSIVE stop gaps and unemployment still exceeded 20% in 1939. Now remember that the depression was a GLOBAL depression. Keeping that in mind, it is interesting to note that in 1938, European countries average unemployment rate was 12%. That's quite a difference and one of the few times in the 20th century that the USA suffered from higher job losses. Kudos to Europe by the way. They weren't socialist nations back then and did not follow Keynesian economics at all.
The New Deal forced taxes UP and discouraged businesses from investing....sound familiar? It should.
So, let's move on to WW2, since that is always the fall back position on the road to excusing FDR and his inane policies. Was there full employment? Yepper, but it was very temporary...again. There were 10 to 12 MILLION soldiers (workers) overseas and another 10 - 15 MILLION ppl making war equipment, and as I stated earlier...there isn't much use for that after a war is over....temporary jobs.
So the country basically traded temporary jobs for a wildly increasing national debt. Most of those jobs had very little or no value after the conflicts dies down.
FDR knew all of this....FDR and his cabinet advisors were going nuts at the possibility of the great depression RETURNING when the war ended (since Keynesian economics doesn't work), and Johnny soldier showed up for a job.
So what was FDR'S response? Why, more of the same...!!! He was so smart, right? (sound familiar? ) On October 28, 1944, six months before his death, FDR laid out his vision for the post war America. He wanted to DOUBLE down on the "Old" New Deal (smart? uhh, no)
Included in his new plan was subsidized housing, federal involvement in health care, more TVA projects, and the "right to a useful and profitable job", provided by the Federal govt. if necessary. ( uh oh....this sounds familiar as well )
Poor FDR died before the end of the war sadly... I do think he deserved to see it's end, but life isn't about fairness (what??!!)....
So he never got to implement his plan for the country.....but guess what...his successor President Truman, also a Democrat, and faithful to FDR, pushed the NEW New Deal to Congress.
On Sept. 6th, 1945 (war is now over folks) Truman urged Congress to enact FDR'S plan for REAL recovery.
So let's recap real quick.... FDR knew his plans and projects did not work at all, just by looking at Europe, that much was plain to see. So we are now through WW2 and the country is still has the SAME problems....14 years of Keynesian economics and nothing had changed....except the DEBT.
So Cracker , tell us, what happened? (edge of seat)
Well, Congress LISTENED to Trumans speech and then BOTH houses simply said .... NO! Enough already!! Also...SHOCKINGLY....both houses were dominantly controlled by ..... Democrats!
They said no the NEW New Deal. NO federal program for health, limited housing subsidies (for soldiers), and no increase in the minimum wage or SS benefits.
Instead, what did the DEMOCRAT controlled govt do? Why they reduced TAXES!!! ( we are leaving Obama parallels at this time...keep ur hands and feet safely inside ) Everything was reduced across the board.... Income and corporate taxes.
FDR also had an EXCESSIVE PROFITS TAX (for you liberals bitching about Exxon).... Congress REPEALED it! Gone!!
So at this juncture in time....1945.....15 years after FDR's Keynesian type economics had FAILED to do anything permanent .... a Democrat Congress adopted SUPPLY SIDE ECONOMICS.
By the late 1940's a new economy emerged from the ashes of FDR'S FAILURES, generating more annual federal revenue than the US had received during the WAR years, when tax rates were HIGHER! By 1946, price controls were eliminated (the last vestiges of Keynesian economics), and the USA started running budget SURPLUSES.
FDR gave the country double digit unemployment in the 30's and by 1946....thanks to a Congress wise enough to know that Keynesian economics is non-sense unemployment dropped to about 4%. They maintained that with a few burps for a decade.
So the great depression ended.... NO THANKS to FDR are necessary.
Thank a DEMOCRAT CONGRESS which prophetically mirrored Ronald Reagan.
I might add that since Ronnie grew up during this period..... he MIRRORED the 1945 democrat Congress ( Ronnie was a Democrat for most of his life yah know).
It was they that saved the nation, not FDR.
And now...you know the true story of FDR......cast the myth aside.
Obama hopes you don't....because he is repeating all of the same mistakes FDR made.
He's so smart. Uhh...no.
But is it actually the truth of the matter? The answer is an unequivocal NO. In fact, it is just the opposite. So let's look at the period of US history when Keynesian economics was in full swing.
It's the same with the WW2 comment.... the answer is NO, the war did NOT pull us out of the depression and any positives were very limited. Building tonnage of war equipment is an awful way to bring about prosperity. You can't drive a half track down a highway to get to work.... it goes on the scrap heap typically as soon as peace thankfully arrives.
So, let's just take a look at FDR and his policies and how they played out.
The NEW DEAL: FDR loved letters apparently.... we have the great new agencies of AAA, NRA, WPA and also the TVA. All of these agencies failed to produce SUSTAINABLE employment. They were VERY EXPENSIVE stop gaps and unemployment still exceeded 20% in 1939. Now remember that the depression was a GLOBAL depression. Keeping that in mind, it is interesting to note that in 1938, European countries average unemployment rate was 12%. That's quite a difference and one of the few times in the 20th century that the USA suffered from higher job losses. Kudos to Europe by the way. They weren't socialist nations back then and did not follow Keynesian economics at all.
The New Deal forced taxes UP and discouraged businesses from investing....sound familiar? It should.
So, let's move on to WW2, since that is always the fall back position on the road to excusing FDR and his inane policies. Was there full employment? Yepper, but it was very temporary...again. There were 10 to 12 MILLION soldiers (workers) overseas and another 10 - 15 MILLION ppl making war equipment, and as I stated earlier...there isn't much use for that after a war is over....temporary jobs.
So the country basically traded temporary jobs for a wildly increasing national debt. Most of those jobs had very little or no value after the conflicts dies down.
FDR knew all of this....FDR and his cabinet advisors were going nuts at the possibility of the great depression RETURNING when the war ended (since Keynesian economics doesn't work), and Johnny soldier showed up for a job.
So what was FDR'S response? Why, more of the same...!!! He was so smart, right? (sound familiar? ) On October 28, 1944, six months before his death, FDR laid out his vision for the post war America. He wanted to DOUBLE down on the "Old" New Deal (smart? uhh, no)
Included in his new plan was subsidized housing, federal involvement in health care, more TVA projects, and the "right to a useful and profitable job", provided by the Federal govt. if necessary. ( uh oh....this sounds familiar as well )
Poor FDR died before the end of the war sadly... I do think he deserved to see it's end, but life isn't about fairness (what??!!)....
So he never got to implement his plan for the country.....but guess what...his successor President Truman, also a Democrat, and faithful to FDR, pushed the NEW New Deal to Congress.
On Sept. 6th, 1945 (war is now over folks) Truman urged Congress to enact FDR'S plan for REAL recovery.
So let's recap real quick.... FDR knew his plans and projects did not work at all, just by looking at Europe, that much was plain to see. So we are now through WW2 and the country is still has the SAME problems....14 years of Keynesian economics and nothing had changed....except the DEBT.
So Cracker , tell us, what happened? (edge of seat)
Well, Congress LISTENED to Trumans speech and then BOTH houses simply said .... NO! Enough already!! Also...SHOCKINGLY....both houses were dominantly controlled by ..... Democrats!
They said no the NEW New Deal. NO federal program for health, limited housing subsidies (for soldiers), and no increase in the minimum wage or SS benefits.
Instead, what did the DEMOCRAT controlled govt do? Why they reduced TAXES!!! ( we are leaving Obama parallels at this time...keep ur hands and feet safely inside ) Everything was reduced across the board.... Income and corporate taxes.
FDR also had an EXCESSIVE PROFITS TAX (for you liberals bitching about Exxon).... Congress REPEALED it! Gone!!
So at this juncture in time....1945.....15 years after FDR's Keynesian type economics had FAILED to do anything permanent .... a Democrat Congress adopted SUPPLY SIDE ECONOMICS.
By the late 1940's a new economy emerged from the ashes of FDR'S FAILURES, generating more annual federal revenue than the US had received during the WAR years, when tax rates were HIGHER! By 1946, price controls were eliminated (the last vestiges of Keynesian economics), and the USA started running budget SURPLUSES.
FDR gave the country double digit unemployment in the 30's and by 1946....thanks to a Congress wise enough to know that Keynesian economics is non-sense unemployment dropped to about 4%. They maintained that with a few burps for a decade.
So the great depression ended.... NO THANKS to FDR are necessary.
Thank a DEMOCRAT CONGRESS which prophetically mirrored Ronald Reagan.
I might add that since Ronnie grew up during this period..... he MIRRORED the 1945 democrat Congress ( Ronnie was a Democrat for most of his life yah know).
It was they that saved the nation, not FDR.
And now...you know the true story of FDR......cast the myth aside.
Obama hopes you don't....because he is repeating all of the same mistakes FDR made.
He's so smart. Uhh...no.