Gold Standard
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
I grew up in the 1920s and ’30s. The Great Depression years were worse than they are now. There were 25-30 percent who were without work and none of these entitlement programs existed. There was no Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance, no unemployment insurance and no school lunches for the poor. This should have been called the “tough generation.” I didn’t remember thinking we were poor, but when the banks closed their doors, I never got the bicycle I was promised.
About 80 years ago I was with my father in front of what is B’Macs restaurant watching the massive crowds on the courthouse lawn. The sheriff and deputies were selling out people’s property to pay their taxes. Eventually, rioting and fighting broke out. The deputies started throwing tear gas bombs out into the crowd. We ran down the alley. So I saw the same thing here in Warsaw you saw on T.V. in Egypt. The Times-Union should have some pictures of it.
Many of the problems disappeared with the attack on Pearl Harbor. It ended the Great Depression, but my generation bore the cost.
Roosevelt took the country off of the gold standard, which allowed the printing of money. It seems we have been doing that ever since.
After the war there was great pressure to enact all kinds of government programs to prevent another Great Depression; hence all kinds of programs that we love. I don’t think any of us will vote against Santa Claus.
Allan Greenspan said the government promised more than it can deliver. It does seem Santa has run out of toys.
Cities, states and corporations negotiated all kinds of pensions and health care benefits. According to the Office of Budget Analysis, there is $3.8 trillion of unfunded liabilities. Probably much more for private corporations.
Only the federal government can print money. States and cities, like Greece and Portugal, cannot.
If history is any guide, printing money has had bad results. Germany, Italy, Russia in the ’30s did it. It led to dictators to straighten it out.
I certainly don’t have any solution to the problems; finger pointing and blame games will solve nothing. A great many people were depending on things that might not be there.
A rather skilled writer (name of Taylor) observed this: “The democratic form of government can never exist as a permanent form because people will only vote for candidates who will give them something and not someone who will reduce their benefits.” Sound familiar?
It should have been illegal to agree to provide future benefits without putting in place provisions to fund them; should apply to states, cities and corporations.
George Plew
Warsaw[[In-content Ad]]
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I grew up in the 1920s and ’30s. The Great Depression years were worse than they are now. There were 25-30 percent who were without work and none of these entitlement programs existed. There was no Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance, no unemployment insurance and no school lunches for the poor. This should have been called the “tough generation.” I didn’t remember thinking we were poor, but when the banks closed their doors, I never got the bicycle I was promised.
About 80 years ago I was with my father in front of what is B’Macs restaurant watching the massive crowds on the courthouse lawn. The sheriff and deputies were selling out people’s property to pay their taxes. Eventually, rioting and fighting broke out. The deputies started throwing tear gas bombs out into the crowd. We ran down the alley. So I saw the same thing here in Warsaw you saw on T.V. in Egypt. The Times-Union should have some pictures of it.
Many of the problems disappeared with the attack on Pearl Harbor. It ended the Great Depression, but my generation bore the cost.
Roosevelt took the country off of the gold standard, which allowed the printing of money. It seems we have been doing that ever since.
After the war there was great pressure to enact all kinds of government programs to prevent another Great Depression; hence all kinds of programs that we love. I don’t think any of us will vote against Santa Claus.
Allan Greenspan said the government promised more than it can deliver. It does seem Santa has run out of toys.
Cities, states and corporations negotiated all kinds of pensions and health care benefits. According to the Office of Budget Analysis, there is $3.8 trillion of unfunded liabilities. Probably much more for private corporations.
Only the federal government can print money. States and cities, like Greece and Portugal, cannot.
If history is any guide, printing money has had bad results. Germany, Italy, Russia in the ’30s did it. It led to dictators to straighten it out.
I certainly don’t have any solution to the problems; finger pointing and blame games will solve nothing. A great many people were depending on things that might not be there.
A rather skilled writer (name of Taylor) observed this: “The democratic form of government can never exist as a permanent form because people will only vote for candidates who will give them something and not someone who will reduce their benefits.” Sound familiar?
It should have been illegal to agree to provide future benefits without putting in place provisions to fund them; should apply to states, cities and corporations.
George Plew
Warsaw[[In-content Ad]]
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