My eye balls are officially shooting blood now ...

Look, HOW MANY TIMES must I distinguish between a discussion on the "era" known as the Great Depression and the individual depressions that occurred? They are different you know? We don't name our depressions like hurricanes, the GREAT DEPRESSION refers to the era initiated by the 1929 crash and ended as a consrquence of WWII. You continually, and quite cleverly, try to discuss the individual depression's ending (and restaring) in the 1930's as if that means the Great Depression was ended before WWII. This is not the case.

The New Deal DID NOT end the economic hardships that define the Great Depression. By 1937, when the second depression hit, New Deal policies had been given ample time to work or not, they simply did not. The work created was temporary and had limited economic stimulus effect. The government forays into the private sector instead of providing stimulating effects acted to retard hiring; the Dow continued to take hits; the tax rates and tariffs were stifling; and we are still stuck with Social Security. Do you know where and when the term "boondoggle" initiated? It's a phrase still used to describe bloated, wasteful government spending. That phrase emerged in the 1930's - I'm sure that's a coincidence. And by Jambo's own admission only about 10 to 15% of major New Deal policy survived the Supreme Court rulings as unConstitutional - ON THAT ALONE how can you claim "The New Deal" helped the economy or ended the Great Depression, when the majority of it was struck down and ceased to be implemented? That's madness. And what did remain, by FDR's own administration's admission, DID NOT WORK. New dealer and Treasury Secretary Henry Morgentheau noted in congressional testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee in 1939, referring to FDR's economic policies:

"We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest and if I am wrong ... someone else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises ... I say after 8 years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started ... And enormous debt to boot."


This gentleman was intimately familiar with Wall Street, 1930's economics, and was a New Dealer himself! He was not just a Treasury Secretary, but an author of New Deal, one FDR's closest friends and the man you had to go through to get a hearing on any new economic policy for 10 years!

But there's more ... you keep complaining that all anti-New Dealers lay claim to is unemployment, and given you clearly haven't read in full my lengthy posts on other failing aspects I'll try and present more succinct, clear evidence here according to some research I've done. Lets for a moment focus on the later years of the 30's, so as to allow ample time for New Deal attempts at fixing the economy to have a fair "economic hearing." According to the Historical Statistics of The United States, compiled by the US Census Bureau (that hot bed of conservative, revisionist activism) the stock market which initially rallied somewhat had a collapse in the late 30's (again, after full New Deal implementation). The value of all stocks dropped in half from 1937 to 1939. Car sales plummeted 1/3 in those same years and were lower by 1939 then in any of the last 7 years of the 1920's. Business failures jumped 50% from 1937 to 1939. Patent applications were lower in 1939 then in any year in the entire decade of the 1920's. Real estate foreclosures, which did decrease steadily in the 1930's were still higher in 1939 then in any year during the decade and a half following WWII. Not to mention the national debt, which Secretary Morgentheau referenced, grew more from 1932 to 1939 then in the previous 150 years of US history, combined. The spending for 7 wars and 5 recessions from 1776 to 1931 was less then FDR's first 2 terms. And yes, unemployment in 1939 still hovered around 20%.

The standard has always been did New Deal during the 30's reestablish pre 1929 levels or post WWII levels? It did not, and that's what the New Dealers promised, ADDING that their measures would not only restore economic prosperity, but prevent future collapses. They failed on all counts. I'm not saying that no relief was ever felt by individuals employed by the WPA, etc. What I am saying is that the New Deal was intended, nay PROMISED, to end the GREAT DEPRESSION, and it did not, arguably prolonging it when it came to taxes, tariffs and ill fated government forays into the private sector.

I didn't make up these statistics, I'm not forging or forcing words out of Morgentheau's mouth during congressional testimony. These are the facts. The reality is New Deal equals economic failure, period.

Of course, 3 weeks from now Titrus will recall this post and quip that my writings of 2/17 consisted of nothing more then me exclaiming the words, "liberal tripe", and reciting the word "unemployment" 200 times, then he'll undoubtedly urge I link to it if I want to prove him wrong.

When it comes to New Deal, the record is clear ... and I'm quite done repeating myself only to have it boiled down and misrepresented as a catch phrase or one word.

Good day to you sir.