Once more unto the brink . . . dear friend!

I must demonstrate that "every aspect of the New Deal failed" before you'll believe me? That's quite a high standard. That's equivalent to my demanding you demonstrate that every aspect of it succeeded before I cease to label it a failure. Widely used and applied by academics the term: "The Great Depression" has come to represent that entire era of unprecedented economic hardships. You can cherry pick 3 years of the decade and use the economic term "depression", and claim that's the "classic" definition of "THE" Great Depression if you'd like, and you'd be right in that at one time that did represent the definition of "The Great Depression" in total. No longer however. The entire ERA is what "The Great Depression" has come to represent. The "era" is now an implied preface, thus the "era" is represented when invoking the words, "The Great Depression" in modern speak and has become a used, known, and cited term by historians to refer to that entire decade of economic hardship. A hardship the New Deal did not correct (even your much admired History Channel asserts this). The bottom line is that era was not "fixed" by the New Deal; the woes, both deep and stinging, went on well after New Deal was implemented. My posts have demonstrated that, and Roosevelt's own Treasury Secretary admitted it during congressional testimony. It is irrefutable.

I'm not arguing your chart or recitation of the 31 - 34 numbers, I'm addressing that era, via the term accepted to describe and represent it: THE GREAT DEPRESSION. And not based on the single aspect like car sales - AGAIN A BLATANT OVER SIMPLIFICATION OF A MUCH BROADER ARGUMENT (SHEESH!!!!) - but the over all loss in countless numbers, sectors and statistics I've repeatedly cited that emerged and reemerged even after the New Deal was implemented, including 50% 0f all businesses failing (between 37 and 39), combined with still staggering unemployment (the largest dagger in the legacy of New Deal). Given these, also irrefutable assertions, one can rather easily and clearly demonstrate that the era of economic hardships known and referred to by historians as THE GREAT DEPRESSION (you can even qualify it by the preface "the era of" if you like) was NOT solved by the New Deal, YET that was New Deal's purpose, its claim, its promise, its charter, its mandate - to end the nation's economic woes. It did not deliver. It failed in that attempt. Understand that truth - IT FAILED. And unfortunately for 50 million people, it took WWII before we would see its end.

FDR was fantastic as a war time CIC, but miserable as an economic steward. That is my contention backed up with facts, numbers, testimony and analysis. But as nothing I can say will convince you, no matter how specifically I define the failures and the inability of New Deal to solve the economic woes plaguing that decade, I will resign myself to the hope that those onlookers stumbling across our site will find some value in our gentlemanly disagreement.

And realize of course ... that I am right.