SO how are we going to pay for the new new deal with all this debt we have?

The great depresion was made worse by the New deal. Also Democrats in congress and the senate sabotaged the Hoover administration and blamed them. FDR's programs worsened the problem. He was also a fascist and even based much of his policies on Hitler's National Socialist party (Emphasis on socialist) FDR also supported lynchings and the eugenics movement.

A government that can give you anything can take away everything.

Without understanding and addressing the root cause of this recession, your animation is only addressing the symptoms of disease. Which is the Federal Reserve.

Pathetic... How is a little of Socialism good? When will people realize that extremes DO NOT work? Communism and Capitalism is idiotic when applied fully. Socialist Capitalism more like a 20-80, would be a great mixture. After all, -someone- HAS to build the bridges, parks, streets, aircraft carries (who actually protect you) Hospitals (that actually save you), and any other of infrastructure.

Can people see how many contractors, workers and actual capitalism is there inside this "Socialism"?

Ralphie would have made a better point if he went back to the Great Depression of 1920 -- the one that Thomas E. Woods, Jr. says nobody remembers because it actually WENT AWAY because the government got out of the way. I'm no economist, so I can't vouch for the veracity of this, but the ideas are compelling. They deserve a hearing. If Woods is wrong, then maybe someone can correct him.

Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQI

.mp3:
http://mises.org/multimedia/mp3/misescircle-colorado09/05_ColoradoMC_Woo...

New Deal economics seems backwards to me. We create jobs to satisfy demands, not the other way around. We don't create demands so that everyone can have a job.

Why resort to deficit spending, confiscating the people's money through taxation, and debauching the currency through inflation to pay people to do work that nobody seems to want to do freely? Why not let the free, self-determined people decide what they want to have, what they can afford, and what they are willing to work for, and let them restructure their assets and resources in such a way as to allow that to happen?

Its great to have all these hospitals, schools, parks, and playgrounds, etc., but when does the bill come due?

The fact is that the "New Deal" didn't help the economy. It was still in depression in '45 12 years after FDR claimed to have a "New Deal" which turned out to be a continuation of the old one and 15 years after the government started mass spending. The solution to debt is not more debt.

So right on, Mark! Thanks for it.

I don't think people know how badly the Bush administration screwed up America and , yes, Mr. Clinton was not perfect either but there is a world of difference between the two. Clinton didn't set out to
destroy and rape America like Bush, Cheney and gang. And I don't want to hear any crap about how they thought they were doing the right thing. Porkpucky, the damage they've done was designed to enrichen themselves and their friends immensly without any regard for the consequences to the rest of America. The shameless and gratuitous pillage of America by the Bush administration will not be easy for President Obama to reverse, especially if he tries to hard.

You're too dumb to rate attention --

where is the previous cartoon? :(

Yay, Ralphie!

Maybe he's getting a bit carried away as to what he considers porkity-pork-pork-pork.

Forming roads and bridges: not pork.
Forming a national electronic database of all hospital health records: pork.

Massive funding for schools and hospitals: not pork.
Massive funding for ethanol and other failed biofuel initiatives: pork.

Teachers and nurses with good living wages: not pork.
120,000K+ a year plus benefits for bureaucrats in meaningless government ministries: pork.

Aircraft carriers, bridges to nowhere, and dams to nothing would also fall under the "pork" category.

I'm certainly not claiming that tax cuts are the better answer, but thankfully the GOP's neurotic, irrational obsession with bringing down President Obama is at least putting the stimulus expenditures under a modicum of scrutiny.

If you want to drag Roosevelt's New Deal into it, you have to realize that the time-adjusted cost for the entire new deal was $500 billion. That's all of it. So you'll forgive Ralphie for questioning whether spending twice that in three months might deserve a little de-porking.

Also bear in mind that America was nowhere near as deeply in debt back in the 40's, and that the catalyst to drive the country back into economic prosperity was the build-up to WWII. Roosevelt (who presided over a government a tiny fraction of the size of the current juggernaut, BTW) could afford the $32 billion in 1940 US dollars. With foreign nations increasingly unwilling to buy up US junk bonds circa 2009, America can ill-afford the equivalent $500 billion today, let alone twice that in three months.

It's easy to forget what Roosevelt said after his 'fear itself' soundbite:

Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men. True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence.

They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish. The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

Although this may be an anathema to the Obamaphiles: Mr. Obama's stimulus plan doesn't automatically live up to Roosevelt's "social values more noble than mere monetary profit". There needs to be scrutiny. The states are heaping on arenas, banking subsidies, sex museums, and other goodies that certainly aren't derived from "social values more noble than mere monetary profit".

Optimistically: maybe the GOP flying off the handle in a mad, hopeless attempt to destroy Mr. Obama will be an instrument of scrutiny.

As always, Mr. Fiore, thank you for making me glad I live in Canada where socialism oozes out of our pores.

- COTO

The new deal and its infrastructure construction was a good thing for our country at the time. We had a government surplus to put back into the economy and help lay the foundation that we still use today. However it also created some programs which have grown so big that our country will eventually have trouble paying for. Temporary programs to assist with the times have become permanent burdens that our kids (and some of us even) may not be able to enjoy despite the fact that we "pay" for them.

The problem with this stimulus bill is that unlike FDR and the new deal, we are already in debt as a country up to our eye balls. With the rest of the world also have problems, who is going to "loan" us the money? If we just print it instead of borrow it that could cause massive inflation like that we saw in the late 70s which will just hurt those who are still employed or running mostly small businesses.

We have to remember government creates no wealth. It takes money from one to give to another, borrows it from its citizens or other countries, or simply “prints” money.

What’s the answer? I'm not an economist so I'm not sure. However just like tax cuts aren't going to help the unemployed, massive government spending (and corresponding inflation) is going to hurt those that are just trying to hold on and weather the storm.

I wonderful job of reminding everyone what the "New Deal" actually gave America; A new beginning and an infrastructure which we could build upon.
We've had twelve years of mindless nepotism and greedy excess. Yes, Clinton was part of this "Cluster F" too - remember NAFTA?
Hopefully we can start actually building things again with real jobs - instead of just shuffling paper for profits amoung the wealthy.

Mike

Lets face it, with the dollar about to crash and most food on the table from other countries, we have to ask if we will be able to afford that $15 carrot or $20 banana. All of the pork in the world will not help when the dollar crashes.

As a person who has been homeless I can tell you that the stress of the coming situation will be overwhelming for most. I sincerely hope that instead of going for the gun we realize that we are all in this together.

We the people will have to wait for outsourcing to become in-sourcing (when US labor is actually cheaper than India or China). Meanwhile, turn that lawn into a victory garden... Spring is coming up fast!

- StupidPeopleTrick

Isn't it amazing--- Under the Bush administration, spending and borrowing was all "Vital for National Security" and "Economic Prosperity."

Now, Obama's barely in office and suddenly the spending to FIX what the Republicans screwed up has become... Pork!

While I'm sure there's plenty of pork in there, the simple fact is the same people responsible for the need are the people blaming the response on the other political party.... Or the Administration 8 years ago....

At least they are consistent with their message. Nothing's ever their fault.

What happened to the two animations between this one and Inauguration 2009? They're not on the side-scrolling list anymore.

New animation is up! Thanks especially to all those depression-era photographers like Dorthea Lange who did such an amazing job documenting the Great Depression and New Deal.

-Mark