To: Jim McMannis who wrote (50342 ) 1/20/2006 4:38:50 AM From: shades Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 110194 He thought raising tax rates would increase revenue and balance the bugetisop.ucla.edu The most universal example of counterproductive government policy was the effort to keep a balanced budget. Doing so proved impossible because the depression caused tax revenues to decline at the same time that the government was being forced to spend more in relief for the needy. With prices falling, unemployment high and economic activity stagnating, deliberate deficit spending would have provided stimulation to the economy, however the contrary was done, expenditures were reduced to a minimum and additional taxes were imposed. During the period between 1931 and 1932, Herbert Hoover made no fewer than 21 public statements stressing the need for a balanced federal budget. After loosing the election in 1932, he even pleaded Franklin D. Roosevelt to maintain fiscal discipline "even if further taxation is necessary".These measures were fully backed by the big corporations and the very wealthy individuals to whom the tightness of Hoover’s policies made perfect sense. Regardless of the crisis, many conglomerates such as U.S.Steel, DuPont, Shell Oil, Gulf Oil and General Motors managed to expand. After the crash they were able to buy businesses and properties at basement bargain prices (13). However the policies described above made no sense for the ordinary citizen because by the early thirties the United States’ economy was in obvious depression. (doesn't that sound like today McMannis - with bush and big business?) Two months after the crash several million people had lost their jobs, many businesses had closed, sellers had been fired and factories had cut their production and decided not to grow further. Office buildings, homes, apartments and hotels everywhere had few tenants and the construction industry came to a complete halt. Banks curtailed their loans and the industry ceased to receive funding. The automotive industry exploded like an inflated balloon, the Ford Motor Company which had 128,000 workers in March of 1929 lowered the payroll to 37,000 eighteen months later. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company estimated that in the large cities unemployment had reached 24% of the economically active population . Prices of many goods began to fall as companies sacrificed their margins or even operated with losses. That prompted further layoffs and lower wages which in turn meant less consumption and an aggravation of the slump. Deflation followed the depression and both started feeding each other, creating a vicious circle Millions had no shoes, yet footwear factories were operating at marginal capacity. Hundreds of thousands had no food, yet gallons of milk and silos of grain were dumped and burned. Meanwhile, concentration of wealth increased. Those who had money invested in government bonds which always honored their obligations even while sacrificing infrastructure, education, social security and public safety projects. One freaky thing is that the gulf of wealth distribution between the rich and poor was huge back in the '20's which is where we've been heading in the last 5 years with regard to tax favored asset appreciation in real estate. dailytimes.com.pk \01\06\story_6-1-2006_pg5_26 By contrast, skeptics hold that the US economy already contains the seeds of its own socio-economic decline. They point to worsening income inequality, as images beamed worldwide from post-hurricane New Orleans illustrated all too clearly. Poor children do not have reasonable access to health care. Nor are the non-poor faring particularly well, as wage growth has remained virtually flat for a very long time, even as corporate profits are booming. Indeed, this disconnect may explain why polls do not give President Bush the credit for economic management that his strong record would seem to merit. Nor does it help Americans’ mood that they spend far more of their lives working than do citizens in Europe or, these days, even Japan. All of these factors place deep stresses on the social fabric which, so the skeptics argue, will ultimately play out in the political arena.