Friday, September 19, 2008

McCain Is To Blame! Or Is It Hoover?

No, Not The Dam, Not The Former Head Of The FBI
And Certainly Not The Vacuum Cleaner!

It's time to sit back and take stock of what history has to say to us. And right now, it's saying plenty! Does this sound familiar? A portent still to come? If McCain echoes Bush, we could be seeing the same things. From wikipedia, Herbert Hoover)

By 1932, the Great Depression had spread across the globe. In the U.S., unemployment had reached 24.9% , a drought persisted in the agricultural heartland, businesses and families defaulted on record numbers of loans, and more than 5,000 banks had failed. Tens-of-thousands of Americans found themselves homeless and they began congregating in the numerous Hoovervilles (also know as shanty towns or tent cities) that had begun to appear across the country. The name 'Hooverville' was coined by their residents as a sign of their disappointment and frustration with the perceived lack of assistance from the federal government. In response, President Hoover and Congress approved the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, to spur new home construction, and reduce foreclosures. The plan seemed to work, as foreclosures dropped, but it was seen as too little, too late.


Prior to the start of the Depression, Hoover's first Treasury Secretary, Andrew Mellon, had proposed, and saw enacted, numerous tax cuts which cut the top income tax rate from 73% to 24%. As the depression worsened, Congress, desperate to increase federal revenue, enacted the Revenue Act of 1932. The Act increased taxes across the board, and the percentage increased with income, to near pre-1928 levels for top income earners. It also implemented a 13.75% tax on corporations. The unintended result of the Act, was decreased spending among consumers and businesses alike, and the country sank deeper still into the Great Depression.

John McCain admits he knows very little about economics. He also voted against a raise in veterans' benefits. If he doesn't recognize the above photos, he'll see them soon enough after he becomes President.


And like the ditty to the left, people will blame EVERYTHING on McCain: Iraq (for staying there 60 seconds too long), the rise of China and India in the global economy, Iran (in whatever it does), teenage drugs and gay teenage suicide, Sarah Palin's taste in clothes, more AK-47s on the streets, housings crises (bet there will be more than one), "McCainvilles," the national debt, war with Equador (why not?) And a drop in the moose population.

McCain: Are you sure you're up to it? I mean, think of the repercussions if Sarah wears blue in a Red State!

Just a thought.




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