| | :One of the things I liked about the roaring twenties is that President William Harding appointed 4 conservative judges to the Supreme Court. It helped the country prepare for a couple years later when FDR would take office, a very liberal president. (Benjamin H.) | | :One of the things I liked about the roaring twenties is that President William Harding appointed 4 conservative judges to the Supreme Court. It helped the country prepare for a couple years later when FDR would take office, a very liberal president. (Benjamin H.) |
| | 5. What is your view of the New Deal, and what might you have done differently in response to the Great Depression? | | 5. What is your view of the New Deal, and what might you have done differently in response to the Great Depression? |
| | :The New Deal was one of the worst ideas the Executive Branch has ever had. It tried to make a quick fix, when America really needed a long-term plan. It created useless jobs as an excuse to give away government money (Civilian Conservation Corps and Federal Emergency Relief Act), it put government regulations in place of free enterprise (Agricultural Adjustment Act (this act was so bad that it was declared unconstitutional), Tennessee Valley Authority, Glass-Steagall Banking Act, and National Industrial Recovery Act (also declared unconstitutional), and granted money to failing businesses (Emergency Banking Act and Farm-Credit Act). While these ideas may seem like would help the economy, they really don’t because giving people government money only helps them for a short amount of time. Once the money runs out, they are back where they started. Besides, all “government money” is, is taxes. And the more government money given away through programs, the higher the taxes have to be to pay for them. Also, using government regulations only work at first, but history has shown that free enterprise always leads to a better economy. What would have been better to do would have been to make less government programs, lay off unnecessary government workers, and overall downsize the government. ... (Ruth L.) | | :The New Deal was one of the worst ideas the Executive Branch has ever had. It tried to make a quick fix, when America really needed a long-term plan. It created useless jobs as an excuse to give away government money (Civilian Conservation Corps and Federal Emergency Relief Act), it put government regulations in place of free enterprise (Agricultural Adjustment Act (this act was so bad that it was declared unconstitutional), Tennessee Valley Authority, Glass-Steagall Banking Act, and National Industrial Recovery Act (also declared unconstitutional), and granted money to failing businesses (Emergency Banking Act and Farm-Credit Act). While these ideas may seem like would help the economy, they really don’t because giving people government money only helps them for a short amount of time. Once the money runs out, they are back where they started. Besides, all “government money” is, is taxes. And the more government money given away through programs, the higher the taxes have to be to pay for them. Also, using government regulations only work at first, but history has shown that free enterprise always leads to a better economy. What would have been better to do would have been to make less government programs, lay off unnecessary government workers, and overall downsize the government. ... (Ruth L.) |
| | + | :... I do not think there is ever a quick fix for a poor economy. The New Deal was like a quick fix. It did not end the Depression. Some economists believe it actually made it worse! The social programs setup by this deal cost money to implement. Taxes were increased, especially for the rich. Instead of the New Deal, I would have proposed a bill that made the government more accountable for its spending, and I would have stopped much of the spending for a certain period of time. During this period I would have thought out a strategy for fixing the economy. I would still have pushed for certain social programs for people who were poor and sick with diseases. I also would not have taxed the rich as much as they did at the time, because rich people start companies and create more jobs. (Nick DeJ.) |