3 ms·

This is the most detailed rebuke I have seen yet. Thank you for adding this to the conversation. My weasley counterpoint is to say that FDR ultimately made mor

This is the most detailed rebuke I have seen yet. Thank you for adding this to the conversation. My weasley counterpoint is to say that FDR ultimately made more right moves than wrong, and he did not become, as he feared, "the last president". Economic manipulation aside, his public works initiatives like the Tennessee valley authority gave people good work when there was none, and strengthened our national infrastructure for the economy to use as it grew. The common conclusion is that the only real cure for the Great Depression was World War II, but from a Mars-eye view, wasn't that essentially an enormous public works program?

protomyth 11y ago
> The common conclusion is that the only real cure for the Great Depression was World War II Probably the common conclusion, but I think 1946-1948 congressional action had quite a bit to do with the the baby boom years. Its an interesting era to read up on.
Amezarak 11y ago
http://economics-charts.com/gdp/gdp-1929-2004.html#table http://economics-charts.com/gdp/gdp-1929-2004.html#table The New Deal had already kickstarted the economy by the time WWII rolled around - although obviously WWII served as an even larger public works and employment program. (The government did, however, have wage and price controls for many decades after the Great Depression.) As you can see in the chart, GDP had already doubled by 1941, returning to pre-Depression levels, with New Deal programs beginning in 1933. You can see that WWII again nearly doubled GDP from 1941 to 1945.
- AnimalMuppet 11y ago
  OK, but Europe was at war starting in 1939, and was trying to buy all kinds of stuff from the US. That's still WWII kickstarting the US economy, even though the US wasn't in the war yet.
  - Amezarak 11y ago
    The very same table I linked showed that story doesn't make sense. Look at the exports column. Nothing to write home about until after 1945. Definitely not an impact remotely comparable to the huge increase in government spending.

protomyth 11y ago

> The common conclusion is that the only real cure for the Great Depression was World War II Probably the common conclusion, but I think 1946-1948 congressional action had quite a bit to do with the the baby boom years. Its an interesting era to read up on.

Amezarak 11y ago

http://economics-charts.com/gdp/gdp-1929-2004.html#table http://economics-charts.com/gdp/gdp-1929-2004.html#table The New Deal had already kickstarted the economy by the time WWII rolled around - although obviously WWII served as an even larger public works and employment program. (The government did, however, have wage and price controls for many decades after the Great Depression.) As you can see in the chart, GDP had already doubled by 1941, returning to pre-Depression levels, with New Deal programs beginning in 1933. You can see that WWII again nearly doubled GDP from 1941 to 1945.

AnimalMuppet 11y ago
OK, but Europe was at war starting in 1939, and was trying to buy all kinds of stuff from the US. That's still WWII kickstarting the US economy, even though the US wasn't in the war yet.
- Amezarak 11y ago
  The very same table I linked showed that story doesn't make sense. Look at the exports column. Nothing to write home about until after 1945. Definitely not an impact remotely comparable to the huge increase in government spending.