Economic Fundamentals: Revisiting The New Deal

Franklin Roosevelt has been lionized by historians who lived through the New Deal, notably Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Many of the historians with memories of the New Deal have passed from the scene. Now, a new generation of historians and economists are taking a dispassionate look at Roosevelt's policies.

In terms of pure economics, many of today's historians and economists are coming to different conclusions about Roosevelt. While he was preceded by the disasterous policies of Hoover (a true incompetent), his own policies not only failed to end the Great Depression, but extended and deepened it.

Burt Folsom is one of the historians who is reassessing Roosevelt's policies. Recently, he wrote a book about Roosevelt's economic policies called, "New Deal or Raw Deal?" For an academic, Folsom is highly entertaining. The following videos about his book are from a lecture that appeared on C-SPAN."











In time, I believe Roosevelt will be reassessed as one of the worst presidents in history based on his economic policies.