http://amarillo.com/stories/031009/opi_letters1.shtml
I was wondering if conservatives can show us in history where their ideas lifted some system out of a Depression-like situation in a modern, industrialized societies.
Looking back at the Great Depression, the fastest recovery in an industrialized nation occurred in Sweden, which spent a great deal of government money. Great Britain, which abandoned the gold standard, cut back government spending but maintained unemployment recovered, but not as quickly as Sweden. France took a path similar to the conservative ideas and was the slowest coming out. The only other two countries that would be considered modern industrial for that time was Germany and Italy. They, of course, involved a great deal of militarization and internal social revolution.
The United States took on the New Deal, which helped the situation but didn't solve the Depression.
We have to end the monopolization of our banking, insurance, manufacturing and stock exchange. We have to reverse a decline in living standards, falling real wages, and steep price increases in some necessities - and of course - unemployment.
Here is the one I sent in today as a response, let me know what you think:
On March, 10 the article ‘Explain it, conservatives?” claimed conservative solutions havn't worked in economic downturns. That fallacy is in fact leading towards the destruction of the U.S. dollar and jeopardizing the future living standards of Americans.
The depression of 1920-1921 was worse then the start of the Great Depression, but it was very short lived due to the lack of both intervention from government and monetary expansion from the FED.
The notion that FDR’s ‘New Deal’ helped out our situation in the 30’s is almost as absurd as Obama’s economic plans and Keynesian economic theory itself.
Japan had a similar crisis come about during the late 80’s. What did Japan do to try to heal their wounds? They implemented over 10 stimulus packages, increased the money supply, cut interest rates and tried to create artificial jobs through government spending. Their recession went on to become a depression that would last for well over a decade. Do those attempted remedies sound familiar?
An economy based on debt and credit is unsustainable. It’s not Rocket Science, its just common sense; something that economists like Paul Krugman, Ben Bernanke, and our very own president Barack Obama all lack.
" The depression of 1920-1921 was worse then the start of the Great Depression, but it was very short lived due to the lack of both intervention from government and monetary expansion from the FED."
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Other than that, good letter.
Read my Nolan Chart column "Me & My Big Mouth"