At the very beginning of the Great Depression as the economy worsened Hoover chose NOT to provide relief...?

What it proves is that too many people fail to learn the lessons of history. If the Republicans had bothered to read that history they would have known the cost of their policies. Or even worse is the prospect that they knew their history and wanted everything to fall apart.

There’s been a lot of reverse history going on lately about the Great Depression.

Neocons love to tell you the New Deal made it even worse. This is simply untrue. Some things did make it worse, such as the Smoot-Holley Act, but this was under Hoover and a very restrictive tariff.

By 1937, American industrial output had reached pre-1929 levels. Then FDR cut spending and cut taxes (hmm….that sounds like something some people today want to do) sending the US economy crashing back down.

Finally, the government had to embark on a gigantic spending and civil works project to get us out of the Depression. This was called World War II.

This is why I have to laugh when neocons say “government spending prolongs recessions” and in the very next breadth claim it was WWII that got us out.

LOL funny. Hannity rots the brain.

What very few people realize today is prior to the Great Depression, the government did very little to help the people during economic bad times. So Hoover not providing relief was not out of line for that time. When FDR became President he felt he had to do something or there was going to be a revolution. At that time communist was popular in this country and there was a fear we would go communist. I truly believe if FDR had known that his plans would not bring a long term solution to the Great Depression, he would have tried something else. FDR felt that he could not wait around for the correct solution so he started trying different things.

Wars don't make money they cost money, sorry Righties your absolutely wrong.

Only time a war is profitable is if we if conquer the area and take over. Which we didn't in WW2. Also this war now is a perfect example, spent over 1 trillion just in Iraq.

There were so many causes of the recession and one of them was actually Capitalism. In Capitalism recessions and depressions are unavoidable. Because of the massive unbalanced accumulation of wealth, and accumulation of capital.

Another cause was because of America over producing and no one consuming. Much like today, especially with the auto industry. They constantly build and no sells.

It amazes be how Republicans try to shoot down the success of all the great Democratic presidents.

The fact remains that FDR was considered one of the most admired people of the 20th century, and 1 of the 3 greatest US presidents of all time.

Capitalism is good, but pure Capitalism is about the same as Communism. If becomes a predatory system, in which the strong survive and the weak stay weak or poor.

The problem is not caused by: liberals, Republicans, Democrats, or conservatives. They are caused by a desire to emulate Europe. Europe has many government funded programs like universal health care and the like whereas because Europe has something thought of as advanced many believe that Americans should, too. No, it cannot happen. America was raised on European principals of thought, but was weaned off of them because of the sole reason that they take from one person to give to another, which most Americans find atrocious and unfair. Excessive government intervention may have prolonged the Great Depression, but it most likely resulted from a need to emulate Europe, who was at the time beginning to create those monstrously expensive systems that require 65-80% of your check to go to the government. We should not follow the path of another and instead strike out on our own.

The Republicans would not sit back and do nothing. They recommended a Stimulus package that would have spent $550 billion in infrastructure projects, unemployment and food stamp benefit extensions and substantial tax cuts. Obama's $400 tax break for the middle class would have been $1500 by the Republicans. You would not see overhaul of Healthcare until recession recovery, and the tax reductions wouldn't end next year as the Obama tax break will. Government can not spend money as efficiently as the People, it doesn't take a Committee for a Family to know what to buy and when to buy it.

These are 2 totally different situations. FDR created "the New Deal", and our current leadership has just given money to the corporations that caused the problems in the first place. But I also agree with others who have stated that FDR's actions alone did not get us out of the Depression, WW2 did.

When you realize how many economists, on the Left AND the Right, were calling for a government stimulus package... you knew it was something we needed. Of course they disagree on exactly what that should look like. Even people who fall into the same political camps don't agree entirely on the plan.

According to the current Macroeconomics course I'm taking, yes. Expansion policies are better during times of economic recession and contractionary policies (Republican policies) are better during times of economic growth.

It just proves that neither Democrats or Republicans are completely correct. They are both right at different times.

Provide me with a link that says the Republicans wants to "sit back and do nothing."

Most of the Republicans AGREED on the stimulus package for CAPITAL PROJECTS, but NOT for the 8500 earmarks for NEW PROGRAMS TO GROW GOV'T. Some of the Republicans AGREED on the bailouts for the FINANCIAL institutions, but NOT for private companies like the AUTOMAKERS.