John McCain & Herbert Hoover

http://www.ProgressiveAccountability.org

Herbert Hoover's economic policies helped to cause the Great Depression. John McCain has been promising exactly the same kind of failed policies.

A Hands Off Ideology

Due To A Shared Hands Off Ideology, Both Bush & Hoover Refused To Act To Avert Economic Crises. According to a report published by the Center for American Progress, A deteriorating economy under Hoover and now under Bush is due in large part to a lack of action by both presidents. In both cases, their refusal to act was motivated by a hands-off economic ideology and an unconditioned faith in the power of the market to self-correct. [Center for American Progress, 6/5/08] * McCain: It Is Not The Duty Of Government To Bail Out And Reward Those Who Act Irresponsibly. [McCain Remarks via States News Service, 3/25/08]


Voluntary Solutions

Both Bush & Hoover Relied On Voluntary, Market-Based Solutions To Solve The Crisis. Both voluntary efforts were unsuccessful, largely because Hoover refused to mandate compliance . [Center for American Progress, 6/5/08] * McCain Proposed A Voluntary Solution Of His Own. During a speech on the housing crisis, John McCain proposed, We should also convene a meeting of the nations top mortgage lenders. Working together, they should pledge to provide maximum support and help to their cash-strapped, but credit worthy customers. [McCain Remarks via States News Service, 3/25/08]

Slow Response To A Housing Crisis

According to a report published by the Center for American Progress, Under both presidents, housing foreclosures rose rapidly—even more rapidly under Bush than Hoover. [Center for American Progress, 6/5/08] * February 2008: McCain Said Housing Crisis Was Not Yet Bad Enough To Warrant Intervention. During an interview on ABCs This Week, George Stephanopoulos asked Senator McCain if it was a good idea to establish a government fund to help borrowers who are facing foreclosure on their homes. McCain said, I dont think so yet. [ABC, This Week, 2/17/08, emphasis added]

Economic Policies Favoring The Wealthy

CAP: Income Inequality In The Bush Years Has Grown To Levels Above Even Those During The Depression Era. [Center for American Progress, 6/5/08] * McCains Tax Plan Delivers 58% of The Benefits To The Top 1% of Tax Payers. According to the Center for American Progress, [T]he McCain plan would predominantly benefit the most fortunate taxpayers, offering two new massive tax cuts for corporations and delivering 58 percent of its benefits to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. [Center for American Progress, 3/21/08]

Opposition To Unemployment Assistance

Hoover Vetoed The Garner-Wagner Relief Bill That Would Provide Unemployment Assistance To The States. [Center for American Progress, 6/5/08] * McCain Refused To Support Stimulus Bill Including Jobless Benefits. On February 6, 2008, McCain skipped a vote that would have bolstered the economic stimulus package to offer additional help for American families and businesses. [CQ Today, 2/6/08] * Hoover Said He Intensely Regretted The Pork Barrel Characteristics Of The Unemployment Bill. In a speech regarding the Garner-Wagner, President Hoover said, Any study of many of these public works provisions will indicate plainly their pork-barrel characteristics. A large part of the expenditures proposed are wasteful in the present times. They impose tremendous future costs on the people for maintenance; they are not economically needed. [Hoover Speech via UCSB, 6/24/32]


McCains Attacks On Obama Mirror Hoovers Attacks On FDR

While speaking about FDR at Madison Square Garden in 1932, President Herbert Hoover said, We are told by the opposition that we must have a change, that we must have a new deal It is not the change that comes from normal development of national life to which I object, or you object, but the proposal to alter the whole foundations of our national life ... [Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed 10/13/08; Audio via Michigan State University, accessed 10/13/08; emphasis added] * McCain: The Wrong Change Looks Not To The Future But To The Past Thats Not Change We Can Believe In. During a speech in Louisiana, John McCain said, The wrong change looks not to the future but to the past for solutions that have failed us before and will surely fail us again. [...] That attitude created the unresponsive bureaucracies of big government in the first place. And thats not change we can believe in. [New York sun, 6/3/08]

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• john
• mccain
• herbert
• hoover
• depression
• recession
• economy
• fundamentals

[conorhennessey]

The war wasn't the reason our economy started to improve. All it did was hurt us less then it hurt everyone else.

[groberts1776]

You're narrative ignores the fact that regardless of what Hoover said, Hoover did exactly the opposite. He increased spending, the national debt, taxes, and bureaucracy.

How sad that you probably voted for the guy who is doing all of those things right now. Rex Tugwell of the FDR "brain trust" points out that the "New Deal" was simply an extrapolation of Hoover's policies. Democrat propagandists had to destroy Hoover's legacy - to cover their tracks!

[EorRompage7]

you silly democrats

[dleksen]

Roosevelt NEVER solved anything remotely economic in nature

[Fidosim]

Hoover was a progressive in the tradition of Theodore Roosevelt. He supported sensible business regulations and was one of the few voices in the 1920s that was warning about an impending economic disaster due to irresponsibly easy credit and speculation. Besides, the stock market crashed less than a year after the guy took office. I doubt he could have caused it at all even if he had run on a "Let's destroy the economy" platform.

[bluesamurai8]

honestly, i wonder if herbert hoover had a chance. and had it not been for wwII would roosevelt have really solved the problem. Im not saying war is good but it sure did save america.>_>