I call Jupiter!

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by SamIam

Roosevelt helped rise the US out of the Great Depression by increasing taxes on the wealthy, creating far reaching new social programs - like social security, and instituting the great public works projects of the time like the Hoover Damn.

But in the end it was World War II that tipped the balance in lifting America out of depression.
No disrespect to FDR - he is one of my politcal heroes.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Sundae

But in the end it was World War II that tipped the balance in lifting America out of depression.
No disrespect to FDR - he is one of my politcal heroes.

Ummmm...maybe for business profits,
but "tipped" may not be the best word
regarding unemployment.

US Depression: 1929
US Elected FDR: 1933
US entered WW II: 1944

US Unemployment Rate: 1932 - 23.6% (12.8 million unemployed)
US Unemployment Rate: 1938 - 19.1%
US Unemployment Rate: 1940 - 14.6%

[HungLikeJesus]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

Ummmm...maybe for business profits,
but "tipped" may not be the best word
regarding unemployment.

US entered WW II: 1944

1944?

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by SamIam

And you really can't compare the US to Africa in that regard. The population density in Africa is much greater than it is here for one thing.

Africa pop. density: = 65 people per square mile
USA pop. density = 76 people per square mile

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Africa pop. density: = 65 people per square mile
USA pop. density = 76 people per square mile

My bad. I stated "you really can't compare the US to Africa" and then proceeded to do so. Africa is a continent. The USA, of course is a country.

Population densities of some COUNTRIES in Africa:

Rwanda 984/sq mile
Burundi 772/sq mile
Nigeria 433/ sq mile

[infinite monkey]

How come wars used to help the economy and now they hurt it?

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

How come wars used to help the economy and now they hurt it?

Because Americans paid for the war through taxation.

The Department of the Treasury, for instance, was remarkably successful at generating money to pay for the war, including the first general income tax in American history and the famous "war bonds" sold to the public. Beginning in 1940, the government extended the income tax to virtually all Americans and began collecting the tax via the now-familiar method of continuous withholdings from paychecks (rather than lump-sum payments after the fact). The number of Americans required to pay federal taxes rose from 4 million in 1939 to 43 million in 1945. With such a large pool of taxpayers, the American government took in $45 billion in 1945, an enormous increase over the $8.7 billion collected in 1941 but still far short of the $83 billion spent on the war in 1945. Over that same period, federal tax revenue grew from about 8 percent of GDP to more than 20 percent. Americans who earned as little as $500 per year paid income tax at a 23 percent rate, while those who earned more than $1 million per year paid a 94 percent rate. The average income tax rate peaked in 1944 at 20.9 percent ("Fact Sheet: Taxes").

Remember, Bush did not budget for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He submitted "emergency spending bills" and the cost was added to the national debt.

[Sundae]

Because we don't make all our own weapons any more?

[Sundae]

Good point.
I wasn't referring to America entering WWII. I always understood that the US benefitted when they were a neutral manufacturing country.

BUT I wasn't aware of the above figures and am happy to stand at least partially corrected.

[Undertoad]

DC 9857/sq mi
New Jersey 1196/sq mi
Rhode Island 1018/sq mi
Massachusetts 839/sq mi
Connecticut 738/sq mi
Maryland 595/sq mi
Delaware 461/sq mi

[SamIam]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

DC 9857/sq mi
New Jersey 1196/sq mi
Rhode Island 1018/sq mi
Massachusetts 839/sq mi
Connecticut 738/sq mi
Maryland 595/sq mi
Delaware 461/sq mi

States and a city (they may call DC a "district," but its a city all the same) within a country against entire countries. We could keep playing this game endlessly. I was in error comparing the entire vast continent of Africa to the country of the United States. I've admitted that, already.

[Undertoad]

So the best example is 15,000 people with almost no technology, over-farming an island of only 80 square miles, that they could not leave because of its extreme isolation, between 1650 and 1722 before market economies were invented.


we'll be fine.




that's my short reply and i'm sticking to it

[ZenGum]

Finite isolated island or finite isolated planet, finite is finite. Isolated is isolated.

Yeah, whatever.

So, how about those [sporting team]?


(although ... notice that the guy with the high job security is all gloomy and pessimistic about the future, and the guy trying to create a small business in difficult times is all cheery and optimistic. carry on.)

[Trilby]

"Everything comes to an end, Tony!"

- Carmella Soprano.

[ZenGum]