Great Myths of the Great Depressionn

Lawrence W. Reed discusses the latest edition of his primer, "Great Myths of the Great Depression." Recorded at the annual Austrian Scholars Conference, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 12 March 2009.

New New Deal

Sometimes, I wish that I had paid more attention in history class.  Other times, I'm glad I didn't.  Back in college, I remember reading about how the Great Depression was caused by the failure of capitalism.  Those greedy Wall Street Barons just messed up the whole country.  Lately, it seems that some folks have been taking a closer look at what really happened.  It's beginning to look like the Federal Reserve and Washington D.C. had a pretty big role to play.  I mention this because the events of the last several months have turned a discussion of the Great Depression from a history lesson into a study of current events.

Looks like we have a pretty big problem on our hands, just like back in the twenties.  The New Deal was supposed to fix the problem back then.  Instead, our Great Depression lasted about twenty years longer than the rest of the world's.  Now again, eighty plus years later, the only solution our Federal Government can come up with is more Federal regulation and intervention, a new New Deal.  Instead of looking to a failed policy from the 1920's, maybe we should look at something more recent, something that worked.  I'm thinking 1980's, 1997, 2003.  I'm thinking that some good ole' Trickle Down, Reaganomics might do the trick.  At least that has a proven track record.  Let's try capitalism and free markets, that's my vote.  For an interesting article on this topic, read New New Deal Won't Help Economy, by George Will.