[wita]

It is my understanding, that the recovery did not become sustainable till the war spending and production began in earnest.

It is my understanding that the government was doing most of the spending and the private sector was doing most of the production. Does that mean that we spent ourselves into prosperity? or was it after the war when all the producers returned, that true prosperity became possible.

[bert]

.....or was it after the war when all the producers returned, that true prosperity became possible.....

That's an excellent question. I can't say the concept is incorrect. The war altered the reason people were not prosperous. The reason for living with little changed.

..Does that mean that we spent ourselves into prosperity? ......

I think it does. The capital raised for the war production produced industrial capabilities and the resulting post war prosperity.

[elbucko]

...or was it after the war when all the producers returned, that true prosperity became possible.

I do believe this to be the case. The war increased industrial capacity. That is the ability to make stuff like guns and bombers. When the GI's returned home, they wanted two things; families and the stuff that families need. The same machinery and organization that makes guns and bombers can also make refrigerators, stoves, and automobiles. The only hiccup in the immediate postwar period was getting Uncle Sam's hands out of everything and letting business fill the needs of post war Americans.

America was doing well until 1965 and LBJ.