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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.

Another thing often overlooked is the effect of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. Many otherwise unemployed went to work for Uncle Sam in the nation's first peacetime draft. My father was one. His "number came up" in early 1941 and he was in the midst of his mandatory service tenure when the war started, and then he was "in for the duration". He was taken from an obscure job digging trees for a local nursery and trained first for the infantry, going ashore at Utah Beach on June 6th, later the artillery, and finally records keeping for the motor pool.

I'm not saying the war or mandatory service were the sole reasons for recovering from the GD, because, as we've said, the real recovery in terms of the DJIA as a "leading indicator" didn't come until the mid 1950s. But it sure changed the landscape. I'm not sure anything today or in the future will come close.

Yes, the GI Bill is likely to be considered by most as a rare example of a government program success story. It has aspects of foresight and wisdom, the need to avoid dumping large numbers of unskilled, perhaps previously unemployed workers on the post-war job market. It softened the blow by allowing those so inclined to enhance their skill set and thereby broaden their opportunities beyond what otherwise might have been available.