Reply #12: The right wingnuts are even blaming FDR for the current recession. [View All]

[mcg]

In the forums section of Sean Hannity's web site there are comments like

"I am the only one that has a problem with former history professor Newt Gingrich proclaiming that FDR was the greatest president of the twentieth century." (referring to Gingrich's book 'To Renew America')

"socialist, the one who started this mess with all these social programs, sorry welfare."

"he prolonged the depression with his silly, "progressive" plans."

"Can't stand him. He and Wilson set this country up for it's current fall,imho."

***

I heard one of the right-wing talk show hosts, maybe Hannity, claiming that FDR prolonged the depression. This was recently during a panel interview/discussion where the panel answered questions from the audience.

This 'FDR prolonged the depression' claim is being repeated again and again without evidence.

One thing to point out is that the maximum tax rate was greatly reduced down to about 24-25% prior to and during the start of the Great Depression. Another is that there was a lack of regulation of wall street. People were buying stock on margin like crazy, they were very overleveraged. The U.S. was a nation of gambling addicts defying the maxim 'don't bet what you can't afford to lose'. Yet the right-wingers keep claiming that we have too much regulation, that we need 'economic freedom'. There was a good program on TV recently about the stock market crash of 1929 that discussed this overleveraging.

About the attempted coup d'etat ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot