Obama argues that FDR’s ‘New Deal’ Was Too Small

Obama has no clue about the history of the depression. Few would argue that the collapse in 1937 and 1938 wasn't related to monetary policy.

In a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss the $819-billion economic stimulus bill, President Obama suggested that Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal failed because it was too small, Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who attended the meeting, told CNSNews.com.

“FDR’s initial steps did actually work,” Obama said at the meeting, according to King. Obama went on to say, “Then he [FDR] pulled back towards a balanced budget, and then what you had was a recession within a depression. Then World War II came along and was the biggest stimulus plan ever.” . . . .

"In early 1937 the Federal Reserve doubled the required reserve ratios of the banking system with the purpose of immobilizing reserves and preventing future inflation. After some months, this action was followed by declines in the stock of money and real output. Money fell -0.37 percent between 1937 and 1938 while prices fell -0.50 percent, and real output fell -8.23 percent. High-powered money, responding to other forces, rose by 7.95 percent during the same year. Friedman and Schwartz conclude that the correlation between the decline in the stock of money and the decline in economic activity must have resulted from chance or from causation running from money to economic activity."