Stimulus II: A Sequel America Can’t Afford

The Great Depression in the United States lasted from 1929 to 1939. I dare say the government, first under Hoover and then under FDR kept claiming, year after year, that — however bad things actually were — things would have been worse without their various interventions.It’s not easy for a critic to say what ‘would have happened’ without all the government intervention. Politicians seem to like being seen to do something. ‘Doing nothing’ is regarded as letting the people down — even if it actually makes things worse.It’s rather like a doctor saying: stay in bed for another week and you’ll recover. I call that ‘laissez faire’; and those of us who advocate it mean well too.