10 Myths About FDR and The Great Depression
1. Government Spending Ended the Great Depression
A commonly held belief is that government spending stimulated the economy and eventually ended the Great Depression. Reality is excessive government spending took badly needed resources from the private sector and spent them on insolvable government programs and jobs that produced no real values. The true legacy of FDR’s alphabet agencies and unprecedented growth is one of over $200 trillion in debt and unfunded liabilities. The fallacy lies in the belief that taking money from people who badly need it in order to aid someone else will fix the problem. Instead of allowing money and resources to produce growth in the private sector, they were removed for just such purposes. Many economists believe this prolonged the Depression.
