"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." --Bishop Desmond Tutu

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Republican economic talking point FAIL

You know the conservative talking point that The New Deal under FDR didn't help? Or, sometimes you hear that the New Deal made things worse? Of course it's a fantasy. In the reality-based, fact-based world where there is actual data to discuss instead of just ideological posturing and posing, you can see from this chart that the New Deal had a profound effect on the US economic situation during the 1930s.


Notice how when FDR took office and began to implement the policies of recovery through the New Deal that the economy began to rebound? See that line in the GDP going up? That's called a recovery. And how was that achieved? By economic stimulus through spending. Not through the fantasy of tax-cuts or other non-functional means, but through good old-fashioned government spending. If Obama is to be faulted for anything, he should be faulted for not spending enough on the recovery plan.

But conservatives don't want you to see this chart because it exposes the absolute stupidity of statements like this:
On Christmas Eve, the conservative pundit Monica Crowley argued on Fox News that instead of rescuing America from the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt’s spending on public works made it worse. She insisted that this bizarre claim was confirmed by “all kinds of studies and academic work.”

The show’s host backed her up. “Yes,” said Gregg Jarrett, “I think historians pretty much agree on that.”
Of course it's F(au)x News so who's really surprised? No references, no citations, just bloviation. But when you live in a land populated with unicorns and concern trolls, facts don't matter. Only what you believe matters. Facts only get in the way of ideology.

So when a conservative spouts off something like this:
The New Deal prolonged the Great Depression. In fact, if anything it was the New Deal itself that made the Great Depression "Great."
You can point them to the chart above, pat them on the head, and remind them to take their meds. Reality is back in charge. Get over it.

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