I enjoyed the book as a very well argued alternative to the mainstream take
On FDR. Admittedly, it matched and reinforced some of my own biases going in. I did read it a very long time ago, but for instance, I don’t recall that Shlaes ignored employment stats including FDRs alphabet soup of programs. I think she made a point about crowding out private sector recovery, and how that kept it stalled, as evidenced by the late decade recession.
My view is that FDR gets a pass on far more than he should, rather than that he was an awful pres in every way. Because of the unprecedented times during which he served. He didn’t have a roadmap, that’s true, but he did plenty wrong, imo in part due to a huge ego and somewhat mercurial, unpredictable temperament.
I responded to a few others in this thread - I know I won’t convince anyone, and I am not on a mission to knock FDR off his perch. I was really just trying to highlight a little common ground with a poster I rarely agree with.
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In response to this post by DanTheFan)
Posted: 03/07/2022 at 08:57AM