4/10/2013

FDR Got It Wrong

It seems that FDR learned the wrong lessons form history when he tried to 'fix' the economy during the depths of the Great Depression, his efforts extending the length of the economic collapse by years.


While the ideas he tried sounded good on the face of it, in practice they overlooked critical factors that ended up bring the Law of Unintended Consequences into play. In this case the only thing that truly helped us begin our climb out of the Great Depression was the start of World War II, with the Depression ending on December 7, 1941.

One of his actions artificially raised wages, which in turn led to higher consumer prices and lower employment, just the opposite of what was intended. Sound familiar? It should, considering every time Congress or the individual states raised the minimum wage, unemployment went up, particularly among those with entry level jobs. Prices also went up to reflect the increase in labor costs.