The guys most responsible for pointing the economy in the wrong direction were Woodrow Wilson, who authorized the Federal Reserve, Teddy Roosevelt, with some of his “progressive” policies, FDR, and LBJ.
Then, of course, along come Clinton, Bush, and Obama. Regretably, Bush did nothing to reverse Clinton’s left-wing policies and appointments.
The Federal Reserve was enabled by FDR, who took the country off the gold standard and let them run wild.
I'm not a great fan of the Fed -- and neither was Milton Friedman, to say the least.
But still, if you think the Fed "ran wild" during the 1930's, then it appears that you are regrettably ill-informed about monetary history.
In fact, the Fed SHRUNK the money supply during that period -- the very opposite of "running wild."
Moreover, it was this shrinkage of the money supply that (1) transformed a routine downturn of the business cycle into the Great Depression and that (2) prolonged the depression until the outbreak of World War II.
This history is painstakingly documented by Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz in their monumental Monetary History of the United States. I daresay this book has been the most influential and important empirical study in the history of economic inquiry. It's explanation of the Great Depression has never been successfully challenged -- and probably never will be.