People worldwide, not only in the United States, are hoping that U.S. President Barack Obama can lead the global economy out of its current mess. Can Obama be another Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose leadership helped pull America out of the Great Depression and to Allied victory in World War II?
Time will tell. My hope is that Obama – and other leaders around the globe – will lead wisely enough to prevent the current global recession from slipping into a depression.
From my perspective, FDR was unquestionably the best U.S. president ever. Maybe George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln had more accomplishments. But their realities were too far removed from the modern-day context for me to appreciate them fully.
I – and the rest of the world – can see why FDR is still owed a debt of gratitude.
In short, FDR saved capitalism from its own excesses of unregulated greed by putting in place numerous far-sighted regulations. He gave Americans a social safety net that exists today, through Social Security and other programs, so that people can grow old with dignity. He also put millions of unemployed back to work through increased government spending on much-needed public works projects. That spending ramped up considerably during World War II, when America’s production in support of allies turned the tide against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
FDR also remains an inspirational figure, long after his death in 1945. Just reading his speeches or quotes shows he was on the side of the worker. On the need for progressive taxation: “Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.”
It’s a shame that humans and societies forget lessons of the past and repeat their mistakes.
The toxic economic bombs and trillions of dollars in debt left by ex-U.S. President George W. Bush can be chalked up to the familiar sins of greed, lack of regulation and libertarianism run amok.
Newsweek magazine estimates that governments worldwide will spend $7 trillion to stimulate economies out of a credit crisis induced by fraudulent Ponzi schemes and derivative frauds, perpetuated by so-called “free-market” investors. These same investors and bankers are lining up for hundreds of billions of dollars in public – i.e., taxpayer – bailouts. Judging by the typical lax oversight of Bushies, the money will be wasted and doing little to kick-start commerce.President Obama, it’s time for a new FDR.
