Well, Congress passed and President Bush signed the new and improved $700 billion Wall Street bailout rescue package. The package also contains $152 billion in “unrelated tax breaks and broader tools for federal regulators to deal with the growing economic crisis” according to the WSJ. How did the market respond to the passing of the biggest government intervention since the Great Depression? The DJIA, Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are all down. Of course, the President warns that “that it will take some time for this legislation to have its full impact on our economy.” So, what should we expect of these programs and policies designed to promote economic recovery?
Look back to the 1930s and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” that included included legislation on banking and finance reform, various relief programs for the unemployed, agriculture recovery legislation, the National Industrial Recovery Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Social Security Act, and much, much more. The Great Depression was caused by the government’s easy-money policies leading to an inordinate expansion of credit and installment buying and fantastic speculation in the stock market (sound familiar?). The depression was then exacerbated by the New Deal, a massive government interference that prolonged the crisis for years.
Are we traveling along the same path? The parallels are incredible.
MORE: Michelle Malkin; Hot Air; Webloggin
Tags: Congress, democrat, New Deal, President Bush, Republican, Wall Street bailout
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