OK, at this point, the gloves are coming off. I have absolutely had it with these right-wing fascist bastards. They've wrecked this country and gotten their asses handed to them on a plate in the last election; and yet, rather than having the good sense and decency to sit their asses down and shut the hell up, they insist not only on having a voice in policy, but on completely setting the agenda. After getting their so-called "supply-side" tax cuts - policies which, predictably, produced another catastrophic breakdown of the financial system and collapse of the economy - they insist not only the continuation of such policies, but their expansion. Even now, they're so obsessed with power and so devoid of any semblance of principle, duty, honor, or morality that the leadership of the fascist movement has taken to lying about FDR and the New Deal, the only model which will allow us to recover from the catastrophe they've produced.
And before anyone starts whining about my "divisive," or "shrill," or "profane" description of them - please know that I don't give a damn. I refuse to sacrifice the truth and the needs of the country on the altar of political nicety and unearned respect. What's "divisive" is how the right wing ignores the facts and impedes necessary legislation to advance their political power. What's "shrill" is the vehemency with which they reject and obfusicate reality. What's "profane" is their willful ignorance, and the amoral, unpatriotic, near-treasonous insistence upon failed, ideologically- and politically-motivated public policies, all while ignoring the evidence and lying about or distorting it when it doesn't fit their preconceptions. If you think that's mean or harsh, tell them to knock it off and get a clue. Get angry at the dishonest fascist filth who are the problem, not the guy raising it. Now then, for those who think I'm being too harsh in my assessment, let's take a look at the facts first, mmm-k?
First, the most widely-used metric of economic growth is Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is a broad measure of all the "stuff" that's produced in an economy over a given time frame. While it's not a perfect metric - case in point: the last 8 years, where GDP was increasing but the living standards of vast swathes of the country were on the decline - as a general rule, it's fair to say that if GDP is increasing, most people are usually doing progressively "better" in economic terms. On the contrary, if GDP is declining, it's probably fair to guess that people are losing jobs and living standards are falling. Other metrics of economic prosperity include employment and employment growth, GNP, Gross Social Product (GSP - a more "socialist" metric) and the like, but for now, I'm just going to go with GDP.
FDR was elected in 1932, and he assumed office in January of 1933. He took many actions with more-or-less immediate effect, but generally speaking, it took two to three fiscal quarters from the time New Deal legislation was enacted to the time it began having an effect to real people. So then, if the fascists are right and the New Deal failed, we'd expect to see GDP declining or stagnating during the period from 1934 to 1939. Here are the numbers, courtesy of the Bureau of Economic Analysis:
| US GDP |
| Percentage Change |
Year | 2000 Dollars |
|
1933 | -1.3% |
1934 | 10.8% |
1935 | 8.9% |
1936 | 13.0% |
1937 | 5.1% |
1938 | -3.4% |
1939 | 8.1% |
Hmmm... It looks as though the GDP decline halted sometime during 1933, and then began growing again in 1934, with a slowdown and recession in 1937-38. So, from this, it should be apparent to any honest observer that the notion that the New Deal was some miserable failure is, at very least, a huge exaggeration. To get a clearer picture of the success of the New Deal though, let's run a quick sort through the data and determine the 10 years where GDP grew the fastest:
| US GDP |
| Percentage Change |
Rank | Year | 2000 Dollars |
|
1 | 1942 | 18.5% |
2 | 1941 | 17.1% |
3 | 1943 | 16.4% |
4 | 1936 | 13.0% |
5 | 1934 | 10.8% |
6 | 1935 | 8.9% |
7 | 1940 | 8.8% |
8 | 1950 | 8.7% |
9 | 1939 | 8.1% |
10 | 1944 | 8.1% |
Of the 10 years in which the US economy grew the fastest, nine of them were under FDR. Even if we were to exclude the World War 2 years - which we shouldn't, as it was the New Deal investments made in the 30's which allowed such rapid productivity gains - 3 out of the 10 are 1934-36, which marked the height of the New Deal. Failure my ass. QED, bitches.
Now, while some of the right's "useful idiots" can be forgiven for parroting profoundly retarded, demonstrably false talking points on grounds of ignorance, their masters cannot. No, the GOP/neo-con/fascist elite knows the score quite well, and they are deliberately trying to obscure it. They don't care that the New Deal pulled us out of their Great Depression and gave rise to the modern American middle class. In reality, that's exactly why they're lying about it.
These fascist bastards don't want a vibrant economy. They don't want roaring industry, nor a prosperous middle class, nor an innovative business community. All of these things stand in direct opposition to their ideal society - which is that of a new feudalism; an economically and socially regressing theocratic, kleptocratic, plutocratic sharecropper's society. They want an aristocracy; a new system of indentured servitude wherein there is a permanent elite and a permanent underclass - with the underclass being uneducated, irrational, ill-informed, and easily manipulated by nationalistic and religious rhetoric and imagery.
I could go on and on with the figures and data, but the point is made. The GOP leadership, the neoconservative think-tanks, and their wealthy backers are, in short, the enemy of everything America has stood for, inherently and historically. President Obama has said that he questions their judgment, and not their patriotism. If that is a sincere statement, he is making a very grave error. There is no possible way anyone informed on these matters can look at the facts and conclude that the neo-conservative elite is attempting to do anything other than plunge the world into destitution, so as to acquire and maintain power for themselves. Their objections to a proposed new New Deal have nothing at all to do with economics, and everything to do with their own unquenchable lust for power. The object of power, is power.
Are we getting angry yet?
Cross-posted at my (semi-)new blog, The Daily Elitist.