US Presidents, Day 32: FD Roosevelt

[ilikeverin]

But I expect little better from your black & white universe Mac - nice way to blame the mob at the end of your little rant there, sure big goverment is bad, not eating is rather worse, no?

If that's the case, then why did Roosevelt pay farmers to destroy their crops and keep the price of food above most people's cost level?

The Great Depression was predated by a depression in the agricultural sector, starting in the early 1920s.  In order to stop overproduction (which was the cause of the depression, in the long run), FDR placed some caps on the amount of products that could be produced.

[ilikeverin]

But I expect little better from your black & white universe Mac - nice way to blame the mob at the end of your little rant there, sure big goverment is bad, not eating is rather worse, no?

If that's the case, then why did Roosevelt pay farmers to destroy their crops and keep the price of food above most people's cost level?

The Great Depression was predated by a depression in the agricultural sector, starting in the early 1920s.  In order to stop overproduction (which was the cause of the depression, in the long run), FDR placed some caps on the amount of products that could be produced.

equiilibrium happens naturally.  It's an post-dated behavior.  To do it 'after the fact' when people did need food, yet couldn't afford it was probably the worst thing that he's done as president.

The Depression had been in effect for approximately 5 years until he started trying to reduce overproduction.  If equilibrium was going to reassert itself, it would have done so already.