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Which solutions?
FDR did a whole bunch of things, some of which worked (FDIC, CCC, Social Security) and things that didn't work like NIRA (National Industry Recovery Act). There were literally dozens of programs, from emergency responses to the collapsing banking sector to middle term to help address unemployment to long term entitlements. I don't think this can be reduced to a simple Yes or No answer.
The difference between Obama and FDR is there were no safety nets ( that we now take for granted.
FDR , instead of giving unemployment checks, gave the people wages via WPA and CCC camps. Many of those things built 70-80 years ago are still in use today.
The big difference was, in a short time, FDR gave the country and people--HOPE.
Obama talks about-------change, but his actions and rhetoric has not brought the HOPE that FDR brought to the people.
FDR put people to work but that didn't really solve the depression which ended when the war came.But work is alot better than welfare type system we have today.
Well, the unemployment in 1938 was nearly as high as it was in 1933.
I don't really want to get into Obama vs FDR debate - this is a not a politics forum - but FDR was in power for 12 years. Obama - less than 2. So any conclusions are premature.
Also, re: hope, today we live in a much different world. We have a 24 hour news cycle, the internet, 24hr cable news channels. Politicians have to always campaign, even when elections are months or years away. It is much more difficult to get your message across.
Politicians today don't have FDR's guts. He pushed his agenda and didn't kowtow to idiot Republicans. My one criticism was that his economic programs mainly benefitted white people and ignored the plight of minorities.
I wonder what politics would have been like back then if we had the internet and aggressive watchdog media groups and talk shows and instant access to information, crime records, etc.
I agree as well that this is not a yes or no question. He did many wonderful things and many not so wonderful things, including some crazy things as well. This is an interesting quote from the Treasury Secretary at the time, Henry Morganthau on the "New Deal" "We have tried spending money. We have spent more money than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and now if I am wrong somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosper. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. I say that after eight years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started. And enormous dept to boot." A quote from his private diary. Similar to now, we have never spent our way out of a financial mess. FDR's saving grace was the Second World War. We ended up in another recession in 1937 with unemployment going up to 19%. Once the war started, by 1942 the unemployment rate was less than 2% and GNP more than doubled. In the 1937 "Depression within the Depression," Morgenthau was unable to persuade Roosevelt to desist from continued deficit spending. Roosevelt continued to push for more spending, and Morganthau promoted a balanced budget. As we know even now, huge deficits hurt recovery.
One of the crazy things done was how FDR raised the price of gold. When Roosevelt told Morgenthau he was thinking of raising the price of gold by 21 cents, his entourage asked him why. "It's a lucky number," Roosevelt said. "Because it's three times seven." As Morgenthau later wrote, "If anybody knew how we really set the gold price through a combination of lucky numbers, etc., I think they would be frightened." If this happened today, the Presidents head would be on a platter.
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