The Bush Legacy

Posted by Charles Mitri Categories: Business, Domestic Policy, Editorials, Foreign Policy, Foreign Relations, History, US Economy, Wall Street, War

When George W. Bush vacates the White House on January 20, 2009, the floodgates will open, as political pundits line up to take pot shots at his eight years as Chief Executive.

Presidential rankings are nothing new. Every former president has one and have eschewed the usual practice of getting an objective view of a president’s legacy after leaving office. These days, the Internet and instant readers’ polls have made the tried and true method of waiting a few years for a ranking virtually obsolete.

Down to business. America’s best presidents are a very elite group, usually judged by how well they react during a crisis. At the top of the heap there are Lincoln, FDR, Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Over the last few years there’s been a shift in rankings at the bottom of the barrel. Grant and Harding used to occupy the number one and two slots. Over recent years, James Buchanan has assumed the bottom spot with Herbert Hoover right on his heels. Buchanan gets the blame for the Civil War. Hoover is charged with the 1929 stock market crash and onset of the Great Depression two years later.

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The Myth of FDR

Posted by George Regal Categories: History, US Economy

The Great Depression was brought about as a result of monetary inflation (68%) from 1921-1928. (See: What is the Federal Reserve Doing?) There were other factors involved, but this was the primary factor. This was mostly the result of “easy credit” (a recurring theme isn’t it?). Credit expansion, as we have seen again, leads to malinvestment. John Maynard Keynes, the father of Keynesian Economics, called Federal Reserve policy (1921-1928) a triumph in currency management. Hey, good call John!  It’s amazing that Keynesian Economics is still with us.

The inflation fueled boom and resulting depression are often blamed on Herbert Hoover and his laissez-faire policies. Nothing could be further from the truth and we need to look no further than Hoover’s words from the 1932 presidential campaign.

“We might have done nothing. That would have been utter ruin. Instead we met the situation with proposals to private business and to Congress of the most gigantic program of economic defense and counterattack ever evolved in the history of the Republic.”

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