Lesson From the Great Depression
We have been here before, and we can learn from the past.
On March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath of office and told Americans, “(T)he only thing we have to fear is fear itself…nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance…
“Values have shrunken to fantastic levels, taxes have risen, our ability to pay has fallen, government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income, the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade, the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side…the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.”
But FDR came to the White House ready to take action, and he did. When the next president moves into the White House in January, it may be too late to start.
5 Responses to “Lesson From the Great Depression”
You mean 1933, not 1924, I'm sure.
Too late to start? Puh-leez. When FDR took office the Great Depression was in full swing. They might have needed a World War to do it, but FDR was in a much rougher position than Obama is going to be and we came out the other side swinging. Plus, after Nov 3 I predict a HUGE stock price surge if Obama gets elected. Just knowing that Bush is on his way out is going to bring some needed hope.
I'm not saying that I'm hoping that we slide into a second depression, but there were some lessons that our parents and grandparents learned from it that actually aid in survival. There's no doubt that as a society we have become soft, spoiled and obsessed with our material posessions.
During the Depression, people understood real recycling and fixed things instead of tossing them out. They relied on family, friends and faith, and not on the government. I'm not trying to go down a time tunnel, but a little of that builds character— which I think as a nation we are sadly lacking. It would be nice to see kids outside playing softball instead of glued to their ipods and video games.
Of course, there were a lot of terrible things about the Depression— the rise of fascism, exploitation of migrant workers, sudden closing of banks- wiping out millions of depositors.
Um, Slamfu, I'm pretty sure everyone already knows that Bush will not be president after Jan '09.
Um, Slamfu? I'm pretty sure that everyone already knows that Bush won't be president anymore after Jan '09.