ping
Yes, I read it cover to cover. Excellent book. Hoover already was from the moderate wing of the Republican Party (why does he remind me of GWB) and the first thing he did was cut off all foreign trade and raise taxes. The Federal Reserve tightened the currency as well, though there was already huge deflation.
FDR had quite a radical agenda after he was elected and wasn’t able to end the Depression until we entered World War II. Why he was considered a great President, I have no idea. He was an amazing communicator, of course. The media loved also loved him for obvious reasons, he was an ultra-liberal.
EVERY FREEPER SHOULD READ THIS THIS BOOK.
CAPS intended as a way to emphasize my suggestion.
Yes, I am reading it now. and I was also struck by the Sumner quote.
I have only gotten to the point where Tugwell and the other “brain-truster” types have sailed for the Soviet Union to observe its wonders. My impression is that Shlaes is providing a “warts and all” picture, in which Roosevelt floundered helplessly around in the face of the Depression and may only have made it worse.
I now see history preparing to repeat itself.
I am reading it now. I am in chapter 4. It is interesting to see some of the parallels to today. Kind of scary actually.
I don't think there is a strict economic definition for a stock market crash. Having said that, in two days the stock market lost 69 points (using your data) or about 22% of its value. That by all counts, is a steep sell off. Of course, the market went much lower and took many years to recover.
H. L. Mencken stated it quite nicely:
“Whenever ‘A’ attempts by law to impose his moral standards upon ‘B’, ‘A’ is most likely a scoundrel”.
I strongly recommend Burton Folsom's new book, "New Deal or Raw Deal." It covers all aspects of how FDR extended the depression.
I found it an excellent book. It’s a bit chilling to think of what he (FDR) would have done if he was successful in packing the Spreme Court. His heavy-handed methods, and skillful utilization of the new electronic media are very similar to modern Democrats.
I found this while researching some info on google....
1931
Credit Anstalt Bank Collapses
When Credit Anstalt, Austria’s biggest bank, failed in the spring of 1931, Germany was badly affected as well. This resulted in the strengthening of the anti-democratic Fascist and Nazi movement in Austria and Germany respectively.
Credit Anstalt faced troubles when it swallowed a debt-ridden rival bank, but found it could not solve dissolve the debts during the era of Depression. 70 percent of Austrian trade and industry was dependent on the bank but the government could not help because it was also facing financial woes itself.
Nervous customers of Credit Anstalt and other Austrian banks rushed to withdraw their funds. Fear spread to Germany, causing a bank crisis over there. In July, the giant German Danat-Bank collapsed; other banks followed before the German government had to declare a two-day bank closure, to prevent further withdrawls. In fact, most of the banks remained shut for weeks. Millions lost their life savings.
Meanwhile, Austria had obtained international loans, but in exchange for French help, Austria had to cancel its planned customs union with Germany. This dash both countries best hope for economic recovery.
In Germany, the financial panic led many to join the Nazis, from youths bitter about the failure of old-style politics to middle-class Germans, afraid of a communist takeover sparked by the country’s failures.
Mencken’s Law was similar to this: “Whenever A takes money from B under the pretense of helping C, A is a scoundrel.” It’s scoundrel time and in a very big way. Obama has swarms and hoards of morons to take care of, and with other people’s money at that! A typical liberal, always generous with other people’s money.
“The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this: A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C’s interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man.”
Great quote! I haven’t read the book yet, but I heard Amity on some media mention a concept I had not heard of that was in use during GD1: “capital strike.” Meaning, folks decide to take their chips off the table during times of confiscatory taxes.
One question: The stockmarket fell on October 28th, 1929, from 299 to 261, then from 261 to 230 on October 29th, 1929. Why was this considered a crash?The volume of shares dumped were enormous by the standards of the time (pre-computer; 13 million and 15 million respectively, if memory serves) and the two day slide was just over 23 per cent. There were few or no bidders, and the capital needs of the sellers kept the prices from falling further. Some companies' stocks didn't slide much, others were much worse.
My stack of reading is already becoming dangerously tall so I won’t be adding this, but the author is an actual historian and might shed some light on that period. History buffs would appreciate it.