Every time that a conservative lights into President Obama for heading up “the worst economy/recovery/etc since the Great Depression,” a buzzer should go off with a reminder message:
Right! That’s because the New Deal and resulting regulatory apparatus that sustained the fair, prosperous American economy were still in place. We eliminated them, and now we’re reaping the rewards. If our problems harken back to the bad old pre-regulation days, it’s hardly the fault of the guy trying to restore pieces of the system that worked.
–
UPDATE—Or, pithier still, the message should be: Right! Why don’t we try the domestic policies that solved the Great Depression once again?
“Right! Why don’t we try the domestic policies that solved the Great Depression once again?”
Well, when you’re right, you’re right.
But again, I’ll try a different POV.
“It’s economy, stupid” sounds right at a time of campaign trail. But regarding the FDR era, if you take one wide step back, for exemple from Paris, France, you can see a different, bigger picture.
From both POV, the FDR presidencies were obviously about Big Government, but from where I see it, it was more generally about Federal USA vs. whatever was (and is still) left of the USA of the Articles of Confederation.
You’re right, we’re at a time of such expression as Great Depression. It’s not there yet, but it’s looming. “1929 crisis” is also now the frame of reference. And obviously, the FDR era was a pure product of both.
But at the time as it is today, the crisis, the Great Depression hit hard around the entire world. Let’s forget about the rest of the world, particularly what happened in Japan and China at the time, to concentrate on both sides of the Atlantic.
Europe was equally hit by the Great Depression. But there was one great difference: it’s not so much that Europe was not a “fédération”. It’s basically that Europe did not have the political institutions to overcome democratically the hardships of the world economic crisis.
Needless to say, the European Union still doesn’t. Luckily, as I mentioned in an earlier post on this blog, this time, the “Big Government”, USA’s Commander-In-Chief, still have troops stationed all over the European Union, that could save The People Of The United States the horrors of others Omaha beaches, and The People of The European Union the incommensurable horrors produced by the inability of We, The People of Europe, to govern ourselves democratically.
So “economy/recovery/etc” is an understatement. In a recent exchange on Twitter about #thingsthefounderswouldfindsurprisingaboutmodernamerica – , I was surprised to be the first to mention “American military bases in United Kingdom”.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt ranks obviously among the Founding Fathers of today’s USA. Let’s not forget his entire heritage, let’s not reduce it to the economy. Along Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, You, The People Of The United States, at least a majority if not all, gave FDR the full might of the Constitution to make the USA, the entire Occident, and, the best part of the world, what it is today.
So Obama, this year 113th Congress, and 44th (or 45th as a matter of fact) President, it’s not only about the domestic policies, it’s about a lot more.
Posted by HR | February 16, 2012, 5:26 amAgain, excuse my French. Of course, among other things, the correct expression is “It’s the economy, stupid”.
Posted by HR | February 16, 2012, 6:26 amMitt for President!
Posted by IQAA | March 2, 2012, 10:44 am