Amity Schlaes appeared on Fox News this afternoon to discuss the New Deal, the depression and the government’s role in prolonging the misery. Some of the things they’re trying today they did back in the 1930′s and things didn’t work out so well back then.
I’m reading The Forgotten Man and I have to say, it’s a must read for anyone interested in American history and economics. The parallels today are amazing: like FDR using big government and the spending, directed at certain political constituencies, in order to retain his political power. I doubt he purposely wanted to hurt the economy, but it didn’t seem to matter much to him when they did, so long as he was reelected.
