The history books generally give a fairy-tale luster to the reign of FDR. We think, "Well, he got us through the Depression." Really! Then why was unemployment at 20% in 1939? Why did the stock market continue to fall throughout 1930's?
Herbert Hoover started a relatively small-scale "bailout" when the stock market crashed in 1929. FDR, who ran on a platform of spending cuts and tax reduction in the 1932 election, proceeded instead to pull out all the stops on government spending. And so we had the Great Depression.
Today we have a crisis of even greater proportions. In 1936 we had the biggest single deficit in U.S. history: 4.76 percent of GDP. Now, it is just about triple that percentage, at a conservative 13.4%. But who's counting? After all, He is in charge.
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