[rextorres]

Huh?

Do you believe what your saying or is it just rhetorical?

Well I guess Coolidge who was even more laissez faire than Hoover, was more responsible, but Hoover pretty much sat by for two years and watched thing get from bad to worse until even he felt that he had to intervene and that's why he is mostly blamed for the suffering of the depression.

I just pulled out my trusty history book and here is an excerpt:

". . . In his second term, Coolidge continued to be sympathetic to business. He appointed William Humphrey to the Federal Trade Commission, who systematically refused to investigate various monopolies. Coolidge also passed the Revenue Act in 1926 this act chopped taxes on high incomes with very little cuts for middle incomes. In 1924, after a decline in business, the Reserve banks created over $500 million in new money. Because of the fiscal policies, banks could now lend out over $4 billion. The enormous credit expansion sowed the seed for the stock market crash in 1929, the depression, and the New Deal. (sound familiar? lower taxes on the wealthy make people want to borrow by lowering interest rates)"

The main cause of the depression was lack of regulation of the stock market and banking institutions.

As far as Roosevelt spending money - (if you read your history books - I agree - there is a lot of debate whether Roosevelt's policies were effective) - still there was very much a possiblility that the there could be a revolution there was up to 20% unemployment 80% in some industrial cities and war veterans were marching on Washington - I guess trying to help these people doesn't fit into your philosophy, but a revolution probably would have been worse - and the New Deal helped alleviate the tensions.

As far as the deficit goes - where did you get your info or did you just make that up? The deficit didn't start ballooning until the eighties when a Reagan passed HIS millionaire subsidy. There was a spike during WWII - but based on how you feel about war that shouldn't bother you.

[ February 05, 2003, 21:44: Message edited by: rextorres ]