Saturday, March 19, 2005
Liberal Political Legend Found to Have Fucked America Over
When it comes to Downtroddens, everything they stand for (which ain't much) comes down to three things: abortion, raising taxes, and making sure Social Security stays right where it is. The first one was not accomplished until the 1970s, but for Downies the second and third came about pretty much during the reign of King Franklin I - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who ruled from 1933 to 1945. Before he keeled over in his bean salad, Frankie took control of the US government and melded it into a mishmosh of programs and agencies which have literally crept into every square inch of the lives of the American people. But for liberals, Roosevelt's name is mentioned only among such far-left luminaries as Margaret Sanger, Fidel Castro, and Che Guevera...Stalin seems to be a bit on the outs lately. Say anything about Roosevelt, goes the liberalspeak mantra, and it better be good; don't be saying nothing bad about ol' Franklin D. Roosevelt.
So how must it feel when two UCLA economists discovered that the one person who caused the Great Depression not to end earlier than usual but in fact extended it because of his ridiculous programs was...Franklin D. Roosevelt himself:
FDR Responsible for Prolonging - Not Ending - Great Depression, Say UCLA Researchers
Read the whole story - it uses facts and figures to show that the Depression was extended, not shortened, because of Roosevelt's near-sighted policies.
So, the next time you are having an argument with another dense liberal, and their retort is, "Franklin D. Roosevelt saved this country from economic destruction!" whip out this story and watch their eyes bug out as they read it. And if they don't have a heart attack, be prepared to be called names, told that you are a hater of a poor man in a wheelchair, and hate America, too.
But the eyes bugging out part is something I wish I could see all day long.
When it comes to Downtroddens, everything they stand for (which ain't much) comes down to three things: abortion, raising taxes, and making sure Social Security stays right where it is. The first one was not accomplished until the 1970s, but for Downies the second and third came about pretty much during the reign of King Franklin I - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who ruled from 1933 to 1945. Before he keeled over in his bean salad, Frankie took control of the US government and melded it into a mishmosh of programs and agencies which have literally crept into every square inch of the lives of the American people. But for liberals, Roosevelt's name is mentioned only among such far-left luminaries as Margaret Sanger, Fidel Castro, and Che Guevera...Stalin seems to be a bit on the outs lately. Say anything about Roosevelt, goes the liberalspeak mantra, and it better be good; don't be saying nothing bad about ol' Franklin D. Roosevelt.
So how must it feel when two UCLA economists discovered that the one person who caused the Great Depression not to end earlier than usual but in fact extended it because of his ridiculous programs was...Franklin D. Roosevelt himself:
FDR Responsible for Prolonging - Not Ending - Great Depression, Say UCLA Researchers
Two UCLA economists say they have figured out why the Great Depression dragged on for almost 15 years, and they blame a suspect previously thought to be beyond reproach: President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
After scrutinizing Roosevelt’s record for four years, Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian conclude in a new study that New Deal policies signed into law 71 years ago thwarted economic recovery for seven long years.
“Why the Great Depression lasted so long has always been a great mystery, and because we never really knew the reason, we have always worried whether we would have another 10- to 15-year economic slump,” said Ohanian, vice chair of UCLA's Department of Economics. “We found that a relapse isn’t likely unless lawmakers gum up a recovery with ill-conceived stimulus policies.”
In an article in the August issue of the Journal of Political Economy, Ohanian and Cole blame specific anti-competition and pro-labor measures that Roosevelt promoted and signed into law June 16, 1933.
“President Roosevelt believed that excessive competition was responsible for the Depression by reducing prices and wages, and by extension reducing employment and demand for goods and services,” said Cole, also a UCLA professor of economics. “So he came up with a recovery package that would be unimaginable today, allowing businesses in every industry to collude without the threat of antitrust prosecution and workers to demand salaries about 25 percent above where they ought to have been, given market forces. The economy was poised for a beautiful recovery, but that recovery was stalled by these misguided policies.”
Using data collected in 1929 by the Conference Board and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Cole and Ohanian were able to establish average wages and prices across a range of industries just prior to the Depression. By adjusting for annual increases in productivity, they were able to use the 1929 benchmark to figure out what prices and wages would have been during every year of the Depression had Roosevelt’s policies not gone into effect. They then compared those figures with actual prices and wages as reflected in the Conference Board data.
Read the whole story - it uses facts and figures to show that the Depression was extended, not shortened, because of Roosevelt's near-sighted policies.
So, the next time you are having an argument with another dense liberal, and their retort is, "Franklin D. Roosevelt saved this country from economic destruction!" whip out this story and watch their eyes bug out as they read it. And if they don't have a heart attack, be prepared to be called names, told that you are a hater of a poor man in a wheelchair, and hate America, too.
But the eyes bugging out part is something I wish I could see all day long.
