Some think that FDR’s “NewDeal” was the first implementation of the Randian Directive 10-289. The purpose was not to re-boot the economy so much as to freeze it in place to arrest the apparent downward spiral. How well did it work? Debatable, but not a lot of people know that there were actually two Depressions in the 1930s. The first was early on after the market crash and that’s the one everyone thinks of when the GD is mentioned. But there was a slow, gradual recovery until late in the decade, then another slump. Basically a double-bottom chart formation for the technical analysts out there. Who knows how long the second one would have gone? The war came along and changed things, and then the controls really set in (for justifiable reasons). Just as a leading indicator, the DJIA didn’t recover it’s pre-Crash levels until the mid-Fifties. Control freaks or not, these things, like the GD then and the recession now (although not as bad) take time to recover. There isn’t much government can do.
You understand the depression, you are right, most people do not understand that their were two parts...many believe that Roosevelt’s attempt to balance the budget in 1936 which effectively pulled money out of the economy caused the second part of the depression which caused a spike in unemployment in 1937. It is a pleasure to discuss this with someone who is knowledgeable and not just spouting talking points. Personally, I think the GI bill had much to do with finally ending the depression...invested in education in a good way. Also, millions of ex-serviceman who might have been dumped into the workforce were in school and came out after a period of growth at a time there were jobs available. People don’t realize as they follow the market today...that our current stock market bears a disturbing similarity to the 1933 market which rallied quite a bit...biggest one day gain until in history... until last week. So the question I have is this...is it 1933? Are we headed for depression or will we pull out of this? If you look at unemployment-particularly the U6, we are approaching a depression era unemployment rate...already I hear talk about a ‘jobless recovery’ which in my opinion can not be considered any sort of recovery but only an example of stock market manipulation by those who know how to use financial tools to make paper profits...not sustainable I fear.