Great Depression

75th Anniversary Of Death Of FDR: A President We Need Desperately Now In 2020 And Into 2021!

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Today is the 75th Anniversary of the death of the greatest 20th Century President, Franklin D. Roosevelt!

Other than Abraham Lincoln, no President matches the significance and impact of FDR!

Of course, there are naysayers, and as a scholar and author of a book on the New Deal, and having taught about FDR and the New Deal for decades, it is clear that there were faults and shortcomings in the FDR record in both domestic and foreign policy!

But the reality is that FDR came to office at the worst time since the Civil War, and while the Great Depression did not end until World War II, millions were helped by FDR New Deal policies, and he saved the nation from total collapse, as was happening under his predecessor, Herbert Hoover.

A person such as FDR is needed now, at a time when the situation is the worst for America since the Great Depression and World War II!

The question is can Joe Biden be the savior for the next four years, since he will be 78 two weeks after the Presidential Election of 2020.

Many will see Joe Biden as having possible signs of dementia, but this blogger and author has observed and listened to him, and while he has his “moments” of sounding a bit silly or clueless, can anyone really say that Donald Trump sounds less silly or clueless?

In fact, Trump daily seems much more dangerous, as his personality and viewpoints on all issues domestic and foreign, is horrific!

And if one looks back at Lincoln and FDR, Lincoln had definite issues with depression and circulatory issues with his health, and FDR had polio and bouts with poor health in his last few years. And yet, they both led brilliantly under the strains of their times!

Biden has elements of decency, compassion, sincerity, humanity, empathy, and a genuinely kind personality, and he has always been this way. Joe is loved by many because he is real, not a phony. That does not mean everything he has ever said or done is perfect, far from it!

But elections are choices, and Joe is far superior to Donald Trump in personality, but also in experience, knowledge, work ethic, and willingness be considerate in what he utters and actions he takes!

And let’s face it, either Biden or Trump could become incapacitated or die during the next term, as it has been a long time, nearly six decades since a President died, and five decades since a President left office during a term. This is longer than at any time in American history since 1841 to 1974, when we had a total of eight Presidential deaths and one Presidential resignation, so in a sense, we are overdue.

So the key issue is not whether either Biden nor Trump make it to the end of the term, but rather does one prefer a woman VP or Mike Pence to be the 47th President of the United States, which may be the end result sometime during the term!

Any sane, decent person would say the former would be preferable!

Crisis Management: Trump Far Worse Than James Buchanan And Herbert Hoover! Time For Mike Pence To Step In!

Ronald 4 Comments

Donald Trump will go down as the absolutely worst Crisis Manager in American Presidential history!

Before now, it would be a tie between James Buchanan at the time of the pending Civil War in 1860 and Herbert Hoover at the time of the highest unemployment in the Great Depression in 1932!

But even they were not as undignified and self serving as Donald Trump, who is still more obsessed with his self image, and fails to show any concern about the massive loss of life which is coming to America from the CoronaVirus Pandemic, far more than any other nation, but no real concerted action occurring!

By all rights, Donald Trump has again failed in leadership for the umpteenth time, and should resign and let Vice President Mike Pence take over as the 46th President!

Never has a new President succeeded so late in the term, as Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded near the end of the third year, upon John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963, three weeks less than a year to the election.

But Pence would have the opportunity, if he chose to be a true leader, to change policy, and possibly save the Republican Party, although it is hard to imagine that he could win a full term.

Instead, at this point with seven months to the election, and about nine and a half months to the inauguration, he could gain a reputation as having worked to save the nation, as much as possible, while unable to have his own term.

One has to believe that in his heart of hearts, Mike Pence knows that Trump is a disaster, and should resign!

It is time for Mike Pence to think of the nation, not himself, and pressure Trump to leave, or utilize the 25th Amendment, pushing the cabinet majority to back him, in a last ditch effort to save the nation from the worst that is coming!

Economic Downturns And American Presidential Elections In History

Ronald 49 Comments

With the sudden, rapid decline in the economy, caused by the CoronaVirus Pandemic, the odds of Donald Trump winning reelection in November 2020 has dramatically declined!

Economic Downturns ALWAYS lead to defeat of Presidents running for reelection, as witness the following examples:

Martin Van Buren–Panic of 1837, loses in 1840.

James Buchanan–Panic of 1857–chose not to run for reelection, but Republican party opposition won in 1860 with Abraham Lincoln.

Ulysses S. Grant–Panic of 1873, Republican successor to Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, lost by massive margin of 250,000 votes in 1876 election, but won a disputed Electoral College vote over Democrat Samuel Tilden.

Benjamin Harrison–Panic of 1893 (evident in late 1892), loses in 1892.

Herbert Hoover–Great Depression (1929 and after), loses in 1932.

Jimmy Carter–Recession of 1980, loses in 1980.

George H W Bush–Recession of 1992, loses in 1992.

John McCain–Great Recession 2008-2009, successor Republican candidate for George W. Bush, loses in 2008.

Donald Trump’s Insecurities And Ego Preventing Stable Leadership In Crisis Times!

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Donald Trump’s insecurities and ego are preventing him from acting and speaking in a stable manner, so is endangering the United States reaction to the CoronaVirus Pandemic sweeping the world, and having its most deleterious effect in America!

If President Abraham Lincoln, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, or President John F. Kennedy had conducted themselves in a similar manner in their moments of crisis, the US would have lost the Civil War to the Confederate States of America; the US would have been unable to prevent the rise of Fascism in the Great Depression and World War II; and the nation would have likely had a nuclear war with the Soviet Union in the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, slaughtering tens of millions of its citizens!

With 2,000 dead, doubling in two days, and having the most deaths of any nation, we are hampered by an inconsistent and dangerous President, who has no clue how to deal with this health crisis, the greatest since the Spanish Flu epidemic of a century ago!

One would have to believe that this sad demonstration of weak and unstable leadership will cause the defeat of Donald Trump in November. If somehow he wins, the nation would be in doom, as far as any progress toward reversing the tremendous damage done by this maniac, this disgrace of a human being, with no positive points to be made about his personality or policies!

America On The Verge Of A Second “Great Depression”, All Caused By Donald Trump’s Ignorance, Stupidity, And Corruption!

Ronald 19 Comments

It is hard to believe, but America is on the verge of a Second “Great Depression”, all caused by Donald Trump’s ignorance and stupidity!

America had 123 million population in 1930, as the Great Depression under Herbert Hoover began.

Now in 2020, it is 330 million, so more than 200 million people higher, about 270 percent higher.

This coming Great Depression is likely to last as long as the first Great Depression, a decade or more, as even the Great Recession of 2008 continued to reverberate for at least another five years after that.

We already have poverty and deprivation much too prevalent BEFORE this event, and now it will get much worse!

The possibility of widespread violence and bloodshed, in a population much more diverse than it was in 1930, and with the much greater prevalence of firearms, at least equal to the population numbers, is a totally terrifying prospect!

And to learn that the wealthy want ever more tax cuts, as their greed and selfishness continues to grow, is totally outrageous. They need to give up much of the Trump, Bush II, and Reagan tax cuts they gained undeservedly in the past four decades, while the middle class deteriorated, and the the number of poor, homeless, and hungry people escalated!

The stupidity and bias of millions of Americans who thought Donald Trump was a savior, and the involvement of Fox News Channel, Conservative Talk Radio, and the Evangelical Christian right pastors and ministers in backing the corruption and venality of Donald Trump is infuriating! His corrupt collaborators in Congress and the judiciary is also a total repudiation of the American people and their welfare!

There has to be a place in Hell for all of these perpetrators who have no ethics, morals, conscience, or scruples!

The Self Styled “War Time” President: Greatest Economic Collapse Since 1929, And 32 Percent Drop In Less Than A Month, Back To When Barack Obama Left Office!

Ronald 18 Comments

So here we are in mid March, less than a month after the all time high on the Stock Market, and we have just witnessed the greatest collapse since 1929, a 32 percent drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other measurements of the stock market.

So now we are back to what the stock market was on the day that Barack Obama left office, after the greatest economic recovery in American history, greater than Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had to count on World War II to end the Great Depression totally!

Obama presided over a 250 percent increase in the stock market, and an unemployment rate left to him by George W. Bush and the Great Recession of 10 percent unemployment, which was lowered to 4.7 percent when he left office.

But of course, Donald Trump would never give credit to the “black man” for anything, so it is just desserts that his raving about the great performance on the stock market and in the unemployment rate, added on to what Obama had accomplished, is now totally gone!

And now, Donald Trump has the gall and nerve to call himself a “wartime President”, when he evaded the military draft with a fake medical letter claiming he had “bone spurs”>

This was Trump’s major argument for his reelection–the “great, fantastic” economy, and now it is gone! Meanwhile, Trump has done tremendous damage in a multitude of ways, and he is insured of being the absolutely worst President in American history!

There are now projections that the unemployment rate will skyrocket, maybe to an unheard of 20 percent, which would be by far the worst since the 1930s!

If Trump had any principles and decency, he would resign today as a total failure, and the only reason he will not do so is that he would face prosecution for his crimes, and hopes to avoid that.

America must defeat Trump, and send him as an indicted felon into a court of law, with just desserts being imprisonment for the rest of his natural life, but not stop there, but also go after his children and son in law, and all of the crooked people who worked for him and brought about the disaster, ongoing, of the Trump Presidency!

Nine Months To The Most Urgent Election In American History!

Ronald 9 Comments

Nine months from today, November 3, is the most urgent election in American history, as America will never be the same if Donald Trump is reelected to a second term in the White House!

Yes, there have been other crucial elections, including 1860 (Abraham Lincoln); 1932 (Franklin D. Roosevelt); and 1940 (FDR).

These elections centered around the upcoming Civil War; the tragedy of the Great Depression at its lowest moment; and the upcoming US involvement in World War II.

But while the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II were all massive crises for America, we now face a true demagogue out of control after an impeachment trial in which much of the evidence and essential witnesses to the wrongdoing of Donald Trump were not permitted to be included, due to the corruption and abandonment of the oaths taken by Republican Senators to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.

The Republican Party has besmirched the historic reputation of the US Senate for all time, and have lost all credibility as a viable political party.

It is essential for the party to be soundly defeated in as many House and Senate races as possible, and for the total repudiation of Donald Trump, who will go down in history as the worst and most dangerous President we have ever had, having abandoned all common decency and respect for the law!

Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for his transgressions, and for accountability under the law when he leaves the White House, having worsened the lives of tens of millions of Americans with his vindictive, lawless, and uncaring agenda!

Constitution Day: A Day To Commemorate, And A Warning Of Our Potential Future

Ronald 3 Comments

Today, September 17, is Constitution Day, the day that the Constitution was signed by 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

It has survived 230 years since it went into effect in 1789, and has weathered the crises of the Civil War, the Great Depression, the two World Wars, the Cold War, Watergate, and now the Donald Trump threat to the enforcement of the Constitution.

We are in a constitutional crisis, the greatest since Richard Nixon, but in many ways, far more massive, and all efforts must be taken to insure that Donald Trump does not destroy our Constitution, which he is so intimately involved in trying to do as we go about our business every day of supporting our families, and trying to insure a long term future for our children and their children.

The Constitution is not perfect, and needs reform over time, but the idea of calling for a new Constitutional Convention is horrifying, as it would open up the possibility of abolishing the Bill of Rights and transforming the nation into a full scale Fascist dictatorship, with right wing forces wishing to destroy all of the reforms that have made America a more equitable and decent society within the last century from Theodore Roosevelt onward through Barack Obama.

A Massive Economic Recession, Possibly Depression, Is On The Horizon, And Timing Is Crucial

Ronald 3 Comments

America has had its longest economic expansion in its history, more than 10 years, brought about under Barack Obama, and continuing under Donald Trump, but would have continued if Hillary Clinton had been inaugurated.

But what goes up must come down, the “gravity rule”, and Donald Trump has insured a future massive recession, maybe even a depression, by his insane policy on tariffs.

China is punishing us in the tariff wars, and Trump has lied to the American people about who suffers when such wars occur. It is NOT China, but American consumers, and American farmers, and this will lead to a massive revolt against Donald Trump 15 months from now.

If Trump studied history, he would know that two past Republican Presidents, Benjamin Harrison in 1892, and Herbert Hoover in 1932, suffered massive defeat as a result of the McKinley Tariff of 1890 and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930. It led to the Panic of 1893 and the Great Depression of 1929.

But Trump has no knowledge of history, or economics, or of any topic imaginable, as he is easily the most ignorant, clueless, and purely stupid President we have had, and makes Warren G. Harding and George W. Bush look like scholars by comparison.

The issue is WHEN the economic collapse will come, and hopefully, before the election, as if it happens after, and Donald Trump is reelected, he will do nothing to alleviate the worst aspects of the coming recession or depression, and will have four years to impoverish America further, and incite white working class people against women and minorities, who he will blame for his own shortcomings.

Open Civil War could come as a result, and lead to the total destruction of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the great American image as the beacon of freedom and democracy could be permanently destroyed.

So we must hope that the collapse, as painful as it is, will occur in time to lead to a massive defeat of Donald Trump, with a Democratic President coming in to save us, as with Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and Barack Obama in 2009.

Donald Trump Does The Unforgivable: Attacks Joe Biden And Barack Obama On Foreign Soil, And Lies About The Obama-Biden Economic Record

Ronald 7 Comments

Donald Trump did the unforgivable by attacking former Vice President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama on foreign soil, while in Japan this past weekend.

It is a known rule that no President deals with domestic politics while overseas, and no President embarrasses his host by putting them on the spot as he criticizes political rivals.

But this is Donald Trump, who does not believe in any rules, regulations, or common decency.

Calling Biden a low IQ individual, agreeing with totalitarian dictator Kim Jong Un of North Korea, and claiming that both Obama and Biden presided over a disastrous administration in every way, including the economy, is the continuation of an attack on opponents that began with John McCain. It has now included everyone imaginable, and not just individuals that are well known, but also victims as in Puerto Rico after the hurricane, and groups of vulnerable people, such as refugees, gays and lesbians, transgender people, disabled people, and so many more.

The massive lie about Obama, Biden, and the economy is beyond belief, when the facts are that Obama presided over the greatest economic recovery in American history, greater than Franklin D. Roosevelt before World War II resolved the Great Depression.

From 10 percent unemployment, and the worst economic conditions in 70 years in 2009, inheriting the Great Recession under George W. Bush, to Obama and Biden leaving office in January 2017 with unemployment under 5 percent, we have now seen more than eight years of constant economic growth, an all time record. The continuation of economic growth under Donald Trump would have continued if Hillary Clinton was in the White House.

The stock market also recovered more than 250 percent from what it was when Obama-Biden came in during 2009 until the beginning of 2017. And all this was done without being engaged in a major war.

Trump can lie, and his minions can believe his use of the Big Lie technique of Adolf Hitler, but “the truth shall set us free”, and history will record Barack Obama and Joe Biden for their economic accomplishments.