Our country has had 2 depressions - one called the great depression, which lasted 10 years, and one most Americans don't even know about which lasted 1 1/2 years. It was inherited by President Harding in 1921, whom the history books mostly remember for scandals within his administration. But his economic policies not only turned around the depression quickly, but ushered in the roaring twenties which saw the lowest unemployment rate our country has ever held - only 1.8% by 1926. That sounds good to me. What did he do? He cut taxes on businesses, cut government spending, and insisted that relief efforts were a local responsibility not federal.
My idea is that we reverse the direction we have taken to deal with our current recession and learn from history. Let's cut federal spending instead of increasing it, cut taxes on business so they can create jobs and wealth, and stop interfering in the market place - allow it to correct itself.
Comments (5)
Nobody in the history of this country was more successful at passing what conservatives will tell you are their key issues. He was not a failure by any stretch of the imagination if you are judging by how much of his party's agenda was achieved.
What did he do to deserve this title?
Biggest tax cuts in history
Biggest cuts in "social" programs
Biggest rollbacks of environmental protections
Most defense spending ever
Biggest rollbacks in business and development regulations
Biggest giveaways of public land for mountaintop mining and timber
Biggest crackdown on civil liberties
Biggest cuts in higher education budgets
Privatization of Military, law enforcement and prison infrastructure
Biggest cuts in Veteran's benefits
Two new ultra right Supreme Court picks
And on and on...
There is nothing this man did that was a failure...if you are judging by whether one advances his party's interests. He was able to accomplish things that conservatives have been whimpering that the dirty "Libtard" congresses of Nixon, Bush I, and Reagan blocked them from doing for 40 years.
Well, the stars lined up for them. They got everything they said would "free capitalism" from the bonds of "big government" to work it's magic.
What did we get?
Worst job creation record since Hoover
Actually LOST jobs over his entire first term
300,000 jobs for his second term
(Jimmy Carter created 10 million jobs in "worst economy in history”)
Millions more people without health insurance
Millions more collecting unemployment from the government
Millions of people’s retirement saving WIPED OUT
Homes worth half what people paid for them
Major decline of respect for US in the world
Continued terrorist attacks on US soil (Anthrax? Snipers?)
Stagnant wages in the midst of inflation in the prices of fuel, food, education and health care resulting in a NET LOSS in the standard of living of the vast majority in this country
Largest gap between rich and poor in this country since the beginning of the Great Depression
It is not George W. Bush's fault and it is not his failure. The fault for the state of this country rests firmly on the POLICIES not the PERSONALITY of GEORGE W BUSH! It is conservative, trickle down, “let business regulate itself” policies that got us where we are.
If we don't acknowledge that then we will repeat this experiment again in the next election. It is important for people to know what they are going to get when they vote for conservatives.
If you make 250,000 a year or more and you want to shut the door to prosperity behind you so you don't need to share your loot then you should vote republican.
But if you are trying to get there, and want policies that help that happen, like a good education and healthcare alternatives so you don't get trapped in a job you hate…even though you have a great idea for a business...then you need to vote for New Deal Liberalism.
New Deal Liberalism is social spending to help you succeed and government regulation to keep powerful corporate interests from rolling right over you and crushing your hopes to line their own pockets the way they did to millions of others in the last 8 years.
GDP growth
Who’s better for the economy? Democrats or Republicans? If you take the GDP Growth of all the presidents since FDR they rank like this.
#1) Kennedy
#2) Truman
#3) Clinton
#4) Reagan
#5) Carter
#6) Eisenhower
#7) Nixon
#8) Bush 1
#9) Bush 2
Seriously--what followed all of Hardings "great work" the actual Great Depression! Which is pretty much the same thing that happened now and for the same reasons. A free market is not one the government intervenes only on behalf of big business- the market is free or it is not- what the GOP keeps trying to do is public profit and private debt, nothing remotely free about that market
Obama doesn't have a clue about capitalism and we will never have a good economy while he is in office. We've got hyper-inflation coming down the road from the destruction he has already wrought. We do need to return to the free market economy that made this country great!!
I agree with you that we need to learn from our histroy. It is the only way to move forward.
But we need to stop wasteful government spending.
Put a freeze on elected officials from raising their salaires.
Cut taxs for everybody poor, rich, and end between.
Cut taxes on all sectors of the economy, importantly manufacturing so that we have jobs in America and won't have to see another product that reads "Made in China".
Stop government programs that are doing the country no good.
Balance the budget and we will be on our way to paying off the national debt and putting the nation back under the column of "World Power".