George W. Hoover, or, History, What a Bitch
By Stephen Pizzo
In 1932, Edward Angly [1] published a short book filled with optimistic forecasts about the economy offered by President Herbert Hoover and his associates. The sarcastic title of his book was, "Oh Yeah?."
I've found myself echoing that title almost every day of late as I listen to President Bush and his associates try to reassure us that things are not as bad as they seem. Oh Yeah?
Anyway, as you may know by now I am a real history whore. Maybe that's why, as I enter the final third of my life, I fell like I'm living a social/economic and political version of the movie, Ground Hog Day. Wave after wave of Deja vu sweep over my conscious hours. Wars, greed, famine, self-indulgent political leaders, economic disparity and "trouble in the financial markets."
Been there. Done that, and done that, and done that, and done that. It's as though society is little more than an software program stuck in a loop, and no one around to hit the "ESC" key.
Ah, but there I go, diverging again. My purpose this morning was actually to just dip back into that loop and copy and paste a few lines of code from the past and compare them with the code that's running today to test my theory.
So, thanks to Edward Angly we can compare President Hoover's take on things then to President Bush's take on things now. (You won't be surprised, but you may be amused... and then worried.)
* * *
"Unemployment in the sense of distress is widely disappearing. . . . We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land...There is no guarantee against poverty equal to a job for every man. That is the primary purpose of the economic policies we advocate: August 11, 1928—Herbert Hoover, speech accepting the Republican nomination, Palo Alto,California.
"Losing a job is painful, and I know Americans are concerned about our economy; so am I. It's clear our economy has slowed, but the good news is, we anticipated this and took decisive action to bolster the economy, by passing a growth package that will put money into the hands of American workers and businesses." (President Bush, March 7, 2008 on news that the economy lost 63,000 payroll jobs in February.)
“Prosperity is no idle expression. It is a job for every worker; it is the safety and safeguard of very business and every home. A continuation of the policies of the Republican party is fundamentally necessary to the future advancement of this progress and to the further building up of this prosperity.” October 22, 1928—Herbert Hoover, Campaign Address, Madison Square Garden
"The economic team reports that our economy has a solid foundation, but that there are areas of real concern. Our economy is still creating jobs, though at a reduced pace. Consumer spending is still growing, but the housing market is declining. Business investment and exports are still rising, but the cost of imported oil has increased." Jan. 18, urging Congress to quickly pass an economic-stimulus plan.
“The outlook of the world today is for the greatest era of commercial expansion in history. The rest of the world will become better customers.” July 27, 1928—Herbert Hoover, Speech at San Francisco
"In the long run, we can be confident that our economy will continue to grow, but in the short run, it is clear that growth has slowed....This economy of ours is on a solid foundation, but we can't take economic growth for granted." Jan. 4 after meeting with the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.
“Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the basic strength of business in the United States is foolish.” November, 1929—Herbert Hoover
"'Every time, this economy has bounced back better and stronger than before,. In the long run, we can be confident that our economy will continue to grow." March 14, 2008 -- President Bush.
“Definite signs that business and industry have turned the corner from the he temporary period of emergency that followed deflation of the speculative market were seen today by President Hoover. The President said the reports to the Cabinet showed that the tide of employment had changed in the right direction.” January 21, 1930—News dispatch from Washington
"I hope you're confident about our economy. I am. We've got some short-term issues to deal with. Fourth quarter growth slowed. In other words, there are signs that our economy are slowing. We're in challenging times. But another thing is for certain — that we've taken strong and decisive action." Jan. 30 at the Robinson Helicopter Co. in Torrance, Calif.
“While the crash only took place six months ago, I am convinced we have now passed the worst and with continued unity of effort we shall rapidly recover. There is one certainty of the future of a people of the resources, intelligence and character of the people of the United States—that is, prosperity.” May 1, 1930—Herbert Hoover, Address at annual dinner of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States
In the long run, Americans ought to have confidence in our economy. I mean, there are some anchors that promote long-term -- that should promote long-term confidence.
First of all, the unemployment rate is relatively low. We're an innovative society with a flexible economy. There's a lot of research and development being spent here in America. There are new technologies being developed. Productivity is on the rise. We have a strong agricultural sector. The small-business sector is vibrant. President Bush -- Florida March 17
“During the past year you have carried the credit system of the nation safely through a most difficult crisis. In this success you have demonstrated not alone the soundness of the credit system, but also the capacity of the bankers in emergency.” October 2, 1930—Herbert Hoover, Address before the annual convention of The American Bankers Association, Cleveland
"I understand there's short-term difficulty in the credit markets," Bush said. "But I want people to understand that in the long term, we're going to be just fine." President Bush -- March 17, 2008 -- Florida
“Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement.” December 1930—Herbert Hoover, Message to Congress
"If we were to pursue some of the sweeping government solutions that we hear about in Washington, we would make a complicated problem even worse. "As we take decisive action, we will keep this in mind: When you are steering a car in a rough patch, one of the worst things you can do is overcorrect and end up in the ditch." President Bush -- March 14, 2008
“On September 8, I requested the governors of the Federal Reserve banks to endeavor to secure the co-operation of the bankers of their territory to make some advances on the security of the assets of closed banks or to take over some of these assets... Such a measure will contribute to free many business activities and in a measure reverse the process of deflation involved in the tying up of deposits.” October 1931—Herbert Hoover
"The United States is on top of the situation. We obviously will continue to monitor the situation and when need be, will act decisively, in a way that continues to bring order to the financial markets. President Bush -- March 17, 2008
“The depression has been deepened by events from abroad which are beyond the control either of our citizens or our government.” October 18, 1931—Herbert Hoover, Radio address at Fortress Monroe, Virginia
"Over the past seven years, this system has absorbed shocks — recession, corporate scandals, terrorist attacks, global war. Yet the genius of our system is that it can absorb such shocks and emerge even stronger." President Bush -- Feb. 13, 2008 in signing an economic stimulus package of tax rebates for families and businesses.
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