What They Didn't Teach in Highschool... The Great Intervention

Introduction

   In Highschool it is often taught that the Great depression was caused by the stock market crash, that President Hoover had a hands off approach, and that FDR's New Deal got us out of it. These teachings are false, and Heres Why:

Cause 

   While buying on margin without having money to pay for things is bad practice for most anything, people have been and still do buy stocks on margin. Even when the stock market crashes, the investors are punished, but businesses are not harmed if they have most of their stock sold already.

   What contributed far more was the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. They inflated the currency, which increases prices, and after the negative effects of this were observed, they tightened the currency, cutting people off from the loans needed for starting businesses, farming, etc.

  When a government is going into a recession, they should spend more. The Fed did not do this, and instead plunged us deeper into the recession, which became the Great Depression.

Hoover's Policy

   President Hoover did not have a hand off approach to the Great Depression, in fact, one of his rivals correctly stated that he spent the most of any presidents in a non wartime economy. In fact, Hoover started many programs that were similar in purpose to the New Deal.

   Later, when FDR became president, he did exactly what he accused Hoover of doing, and spent more money in the process, sinking the country into debt, and providing citizens with pseudo-jobs that didn't actually create any wealth. This lead to wasted money, and a false employment level, as really the govt. was employing people with money it didn't have.

New Deal

   Later, when FDR became president, he did exactly what he accused Hoover of doing, and spent more money in the process, sinking the country into debt, and providing citizens with pseudo-jobs that didn't actually create any wealth. This lead to wasted money, and a false employment level, as really the govt. was employing people with money it didn't have.

    This practice left a legacy of govt. regulation, welfare, and pseudo-jobs. These practices are still in full swing today, with the govt. trying to get us out of the 'great recession' by spending it's way into oblivion, purchasing FRD's economic bill of rights with money they don't have, coupled with taxes sent to programs the gov't has no right to set up.