Whoever is elected the president on Nov. 4 will possibly be in a position to make drastic and consequential changes in our economic system. That is why I am urging voters to read Amity Shlaes’very important book, The Forgotten Man: A History of the Great Depression before voting.
The basic idea is that FDR’s remedy for the Great Depression prolonged it. We face an economic crisis today, and the temptation may be Rooseveltian remedies. In a piece in the Washington Post (you can use it as your Cliff Notes if you really and truly don’t have time to read the book before voting), Shlaes notes:
“Perverse monetary policy was the greatest cause of the Great Depression. But five non-monetary missteps were important in making the Depression great, and the same missteps damaged the global economy as well. While many are thinking about the Depression, few seem concerned about replicating these Foolish Five today.
Included in Amity’s Five Horsemen of the Downturn are: protectionism and raising taxes.
You’ll have to read the article to find out the others.