Myth or Fact: Great Depression

The Great Depression was mostly caused by the government. The government became too involved with the market by causing restrictions on businesses and by increasing the money supply.  He instituted the New Deal, which both helped and hurt the economy.

                FDR did not want to have “unfair competition or monopolies,” so he made some regulations that would slow down some businesses.  He revolutionized labor unions with the Wagner Act, which in my opinion was unfair to the employers.  I believe that there could have been some sort of happy medium reached.

                Under the New Deal there were banking laws that prohibited banks from opening more branches. Under this law thousands of American banks failed. Canada, however, did not have a single failure among its banks.  It was going through the same recession but they didn’t have the same kind of government intervention specifically the banking laws.

I believe that it is a myth that the Great Depression was caused by a failure of the free market and was resolved by government intervention.  We found out later through Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher the benefits of less government involvement.  The best thing to do is to decrease government spending when times are good and too increase government spending during a recession.

Charter City Essay

Clint Urick
American Foundations
Blog Essay 7: Charter city

    If I were to create a new city it would be heavily based on American and religious values. I would not have a national religion, but I would make it clear that God is a part of this city. There will be no awards or punishments for belief or unbelief, but there will be respect for all. I would definitely establish a constitution like in America that would secure the natural rights of the people, particularly that of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. .

    This would be essential in creating a free market society. This means that the government would not regulate trade or decide prices on goods and services. All of these things would be up to the people. This way supply and demand governs the market, instead of governments deciding on increases/decreases in prices.

    The government would be involved just to enforce the laws and rules. It would make sure that people's rights and properties are protected, and it would make sure that people honor contracts they sign.
    Education would be very important so that the people can improve society through their occupations and services. Everyone would be able to get a high school education, but they would have to work harder after that to get a college degree like it is in America. It would also be important for people to know that wealth is something created, and that anyone can achieve wealth if they work for it.
    Equally important would be knowing that serving others serves yourself, directly or indirectly. The many different jobs around the city are what make it alive. The constant flow of money between people and businesses is healthy for an economy and that knowledge would be taught to everyone.
    One thing that is detrimental to a society is wastefulness or selfishness. In my city we would try to avoid both of these things. To put an end to wastefulness I would try to have laws against unnecessary waste. Unnecessary waste being the throwing away of perfectly good products. Selfishness is not something that can be avoided without taking away people's rights, so I would just try to promote being good citizens who care about each other.