Feeling The Pain by Bill Ryan
November 10, 2008
We have somehow gotten to the idea that life is supposed to be painless, and when the unpredictable throws a rock or two, or a boulder, in our path someone, other than ourselves, is supposed to remove the obstacle and smooth the path.
Over the past 75 years of so, that someone has been the government.
President-elect Obama, as did President Bush, wants to help the America through the current difficult economic times, but is that appropriate considering the natural fluctuations of the market place? Such aid is described as “compassionate” and “needed,” and has been provided before, but is that the role of government, and does it in fact help, prolong, or actually do more harm than good?
Scholarly analysis of the New Deal programs has determined that many, if not all of the efforts to correct the market actually exacerbated the financial malaise, thus extending both the impact and the duration of the depression. In addition, not often mentioned in history books, is that the government actually punished certain segments of the population, like black southern farmers, by their market management policies. In summary, the depression would have ended sooner and with less financial disruption had FDR just let the market work.