The University of Idaho Argonaut

I’m not an economics expert or a history major, but I do read and have an interest in this nation’s past and future. I want to take a quick journey back to another time.

Let’s go back to 1929. The economy is booming and the stock market is soaring upward. However, we now know that it was being propelled by lots of risky investments made with borrowed money, with investors confident that the value of their investments would keep increasing. Of course, it cannot last, and the stock market crashes.

The next year, 1930, is an election year, and Herbert Hoover is running for reelection. He is steadfast and capable, but not very articulate or exciting. He also has a hands-off economic policy, and wants to let the market recover on its own, as it may well have.

Running against him is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the charismatic and energetic governor of New York, who has a plan of massive spending and increased government control to save the economy from crisis. While it is not necessarily based on sound economic principles, it captures the public’s imagination much more than Hoover’s do-nothing approach.

Of course Roosevelt wins by a landslide in a wave of charisma, hope, and eloquent promises, and his economic plan is implemented. The plan succeeds in massively increasing the size of the federal government, but it fails to save the economy, and instead the nation falls into a deep depression that lasts until World War II.

Now let us spring forward to today. Until recently, the housing market has been booming, propelled by lots of risky investments made with borrowed money, with investors confident that the value of their investments would keep increasing. Of course, it couldn’t last, and the housing market crashed. This year is an election year, and John McCain is running for the presidency. He is steadfast and capable, but not very articulate or exciting. He has a hands-off economic policy, and wants to let the market recover on its own, as it may well do.

Facing McCain — probably — is Barrack Obama, the charismatic and energetic senator from Chicago, who has just unveiled a $30 billion spending plan, along with increased government regulation and oversight, to save the economy from crisis. While it is not necessarily based on sound economic principles, it seems to be capturing the public’s imagination much more than McCain’s do-nothing approach.

This brings us up to the present moment. I would like to continue the story, but I can’t study the future, only the past. As I said before, I probably don’t know what I’m talking about, and you can disregard it if you want or if you have better understanding of the situation, but the comparison is enough to concern me. Don’t get too worried, though. There were happy people during the Depression, too.