During the 30's we had the Dustbowl: huge ares of the midwest immersed in drought and flying arid soil. It was the Great Depression already. FDR was President, and farming was nearly impossible in the affected areas. So what did FDR and his New Deal do? Slaughter the livestock of the already impoverished farmers and let the meat rot, in order to stabilize prices. Those farmers could pay the mortgage another day with the money the government gave them, but what would they eat later without their cows and pigs?
In addition, FDR sent money to the area to help those affected. The result? People staying longer than they probably should have, living off of the dole welfare of the New Deal, and being more likely to die of pneumonia from staying when they otherwise would have left for better land. Why do modern professors and politicians teach us to worship FDR? His intervention may have helped individual people avoid bankruptcy, but what of the net effects on them and the people of the area as a whole? The increased debt, lengthening of the Great Depression, increased power in the executive branch, increased time people spent in unhealthy places, the increased waste and starvation? Shouldn't net effects be the determining factor in deciding which policies are successes and which are failures? At least from a conservative perspective, I'd sure think so.
FDR was a typical, dyed in the wool liberal of the times, and redistribution of wealth has always been their goal. He did a fine job of it, and the liberal historians have treated him well. But we know what happened.
ReplyDeleteThe Dust Bowl, among many other things, was part of FDR's legacy, but you would never know he had anything to do with it if you watched Hollywood's version of Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath.'
They blamed the bankers (sound familiar?). Ha. Again, we know what happened.
I get how the bankers could be the easy scapegoat since they ended up being the ones that had to repossess properties, but that's such a shallow understanding of what really was happening. That's like blaming the banks for our current financial situation when they were FORCED by the government to give bad loans, the very loans which took down our entire economy like a domino set. The fault is with the well-intentioned useful idiots and all-out Marxist destroyers in Washington who strong armed the bankers to create our demise in the belief that a house is a human right.
ReplyDeleteThey not only believe that a house is a human right, but that a nice house is a right; a nice beach front house. With a hot tub. While we're handing our 'rights,' let's add a tennis court, and a swimming pool (or two)...
ReplyDeleteAnd best of all, nobody has to pay for these rights, as the every good liberal knows that all the money for these 'rights' comes from the Great Money Fairy, who rewards all faithfull little liberals who wait faithfully in the pumpkin patch, until the Great Money Fairy rises up from the pumpkin patch, spreading money on all the good little....
....oh, wait. That was a Charles Schultz thing, uh, where was I?
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Rangel.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing people burst liberal bubbles. Great observation!
ReplyDelete