John Moser

Moreover,

FDR, believe it or not, hates deficits.

So when he does spend more money, he wants to raise taxes too.

So taxes go up.

So money is being taken out of the economy as it's being put in in a different way.

And it doesn't end up having the desired effect.

Yes, there is progress from 1934, especially starting in 1935 until 1937.

There's really rapid economic growth.

But

Unemployment is less, but unemployment is still 15% even in 1937.

And then 1937 comes along and there's the economy tanks again.

They call that the recession of 1937-38.

Yeah, so the fact is there were far too many people involved in farming in the 1930s.

Going back to the old Jeffersonian idea that the backbone of America is the small farmer, that there were probably lots of people in farming who should have gotten out of the business earlier, and they were forced out in the 1930s.

So you have these low agricultural prices, and then the Dust Bowl,

You start to see the problems that would develop during the Dust Bowl in 1930.

I talked about this major drought in the southeastern part of the United States.

Drought conditions would continue for the next several years, especially more toward the Midwest.

Mm-hmm.

It just crops are being completely wiped out.