jmog;1780626 wrote:I'll give you that, FDR was rather socialist, Obama is rather close but not really, so call it 1.5 POTUS's in 200+ years of a great history is not something to double down on.
The New Deal spent more money on a GDP basis than any POTUS plan in history. The most notable successes were infrastructure built by previously unemployed workers (meaning you work to get a 'welfare' check...novel idea for a liberal...that would get ridiculed by modern liberals).
The amount of sheer wasted money was insane. The unemployment never really went down once those temporary jobs went away. Another recession came almost right after it in 1937, which was only overcome due to WW2.
Jmog...you are aware that fiscal stimulus and deficits hiring the unemployed to serve in a war and huge monetary stimulus to accompany it was the New Deal on steroids right? They actually have a term for it - weaponized Keynesianism - because conservatives have no problem with hiring the unemployed and big government spending if the object is to kill people and break things.
Moreover, the the great depression had multiple expansions and what you are referring to is called The Great Mistake of 1937 when Roosevelt and company improperly turned to austerity (much like Obama) cutting spending from $8.2 billion in 1936 to 7.8 billion in 1937 and under $7 billion in 1938.
The Fed also tightened. This time around the Fed saved us from Congress and Obama in 2012 with QE3 and the Evans Rule but looks like they may be itching to repeat the mistakes of 1937 this year with premature hawkishness and unfortunately it may just mean a GOP win this fall.
So in a way you are right Jmog...any candidate who will attempt to prematurely tighten fiscal stimulus and monetary stimulus like FDR did in 1937 and like Obama did in 2012 would be making a mistake.
The New Deal should have never been stopped in the name of balanced budgets which caused a recession.