In a thorough study of literature about the Depression, economic historian Eugene White claims that the rate increases were not sufficiently aligned with sagging stocks. But White’s 1994 work did not take into consideration the DEFLATION that had been going on for several years. Doug Irwin calculated that the deflation-adjusted impact of S-H was a stunning five percent of GNP. In perspective, that would be 2x higher than Katrina, four times worse than the economic impact of 9/11, and five times worse than the impact of the Navigation Acts blamed for starting the American Revolution.
Now, I’m not saying other things were’t going on to cause the Great Depression. Milton Friedman himself partly blamed bad monetary policy like I think you might have argued before, as well as Hoover’s policies, agricultural bank failures and deflation. H-S did have a big impact but perhaps it wasn’t a main cause, but it’s impact was not small by any stretch.
I believe in free trade but that doesn’t make one a globalist, just someone who sees the value of comparative advantage. Does that mean I’m against all tariffs? Absolutely not. If a country imposed tariffs on us or sub sizes an industry we should reciprocate. But it should be a Industry by industry or country by country basis. They should be targeted in other words to minimize their deflationary effect on the economy.
Try to use basic math here. Trade was 3.5% of the total economy in 1930. 1.5 % imports and 2% exports, we had a surplus yeah! If you were to take away ALL trade from the economy then the most the economy would shrink(temporarily I might add) is 3.5%. There is no way to get to 5%.
Use your head man. If that is possible for a Free Traitors™. Doug is just another globalist propagandist. I real rat.