What Caused The Great Depression? | Lawrence W. Reed and Stefan Molyneux

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1. The problem with presentations like this is that those "stupid, bumbling bureaucrats" are perpetually blamed for having no idea what they were doing. These are NOT stupid people, they knew EXACTLY what they were doing. The stock market crashed, the wealthiest families scooped up the stocks at pennies on the dollar, bureaucrats were rewarded, and the wealth of the US became even more concentrated.
2. stefan's example of how people think of the great depression is exactly what my teacher taught me, and my science teacher had us watch an inconveinent truth, great job common core!
3. The thiing is that the cycle is created by monetary manipulation, is not that your point? So it is índuced isn't it?
4. Does this guys know anything about the fraude of over the counter derivatives! Private fraud!
5. Are these guys stupid? The fed is private!
6. I disagree with him on free trade. America had higher growth rates when import taxes paid for the government and there was no income tax. By his own admission, Smoot Hawley came after the crash of 1929, not before.
   
   Read the excellent books by Pat Buchanan that explain that Smoot Hawley tax increases were very small and affected only a small part of the economy. How can he explain the rapid progress of China over the last few decades when they have one of the most protectionist economies on earth?
7. Both seem oblivious to the fact that Keynesian economists do not advocate tax increases in a recession or depression. This doesn’t inspire much confidence in the quality of the analysis.
8. Federal Reserve Act, then known as the Currency Bill, was signed into law after passing the House and Senate in late December, 1913. President Wilson signed away the last veneer of control over the American money supply to a cartel; a well-organized gang of crooks so successful, so cunning, so well-hidden that even now, a century later, few know of its existence, let alone the details of its operations. Mr. Lawrence Reed must be unaware of who controls the Federal Reserve.
9. I haven't been able to find much historical documentation for the supposedly high profile meetings between the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England during the 1920s, could anyone give me some historical documentation on that?
10. not to be the nay sayer, but if you take 11 million people and draft them and pay them to be in the military that is no longer being unemployed. when you get paid to do something, like fight a war for a random example, that is a job. so maybe maybe MAYBE you don't count people as unemployed when they are employed. just because you don't like the job they are doing does not mean they are not employed.
11. Hoover may have been labelled a republican, but he ruled like a leftist. Murray Rothbard may actually be right about the main cause of the Depression.
12. The problem with the free market is not the market it the greedy individuels running it.
13. Both my parents grew up during the Great Depression... I asked my Dad in the 1980's why he wouldn't buy his Council House that he had rented for the previous 30 years (Maggie Thatcher had just introduced the big "Sell Off" and he had the opportunity of buying his rented house at 40% of market value)...He said, " I don't want to get into debt"....That is how they lived their lives...They SAVED to buy their wants and only purchased their NEEDS. Now I understand what they had been through and the MINDSET of not getting into debt. :)
14. The great depression was caused by the federal government. There wasn't enough currency in circulation to support a large economy. Businesses could not sustain cash flow to support the turning wheels of industry. Jobs were eliminated and this cause things get worse. Consumers could not spend because of lack of cash. The cash was heavily tied to gold. This is what really created the crush. The governments around the world operated in the same fashion.
15. Stefan I really enjoy your videos but your economic theory is a little hard to swallow. I am not even saying your wrong. Its about the impossible nature of humans and there innate ability to fuck everything up. Lets say Free Market is king. Everyone agrees at the time and we implement it. Now everything is running fine for a bit, then something bad happens. Under our current government systems, the post analysis begins. Free market has failed one person claims. After some scrutiny another person finds some dodgy dealing.. Aha they shout Free Market didn't fail!!!! The failure was in the implementation. (no true scot?)
    The main problem I see is this. Any system can be abused, all systems have flaws and those flaws will require some segment of society to take a hit. Now we move forward after great debate knowing these things. The segment 'taking the hit' although not entirely happy, moves forward in good faith willing to compromise for the sake of ALL. Then after a time understanding that life new difficulties are for sake of human kind and the future of our civilization. Suddenly tables turn. Life starts getting better for those people who initially had it tough. Progress. However the people who now are not getting it so easy decide fuck that we change our minds. BOOM. BANK BAILOUTS. Under these conditions what will happen next time? Less compromise. Less ability to implement even the most simple changes. CONGRESS in constant state of doing nothing for nobody not even because they don't want to. Because compromise has been killed.
16. Lawrence Reed for President
17. Libertarians don't like big government. Nature abhors a vacuum. The power space formerly occupied by governments is slowly being occupied by corporations. The corporations are not elected and are more easily corrupted than governments. Governments pretend to care about the people. Corporations don't even pretend. They let you know all the time. Not only do they not give a flying f about the people, but they are happy to make and sell products that kill people.
    Aww. We are so lucky to have these two economic geniuses to explain stuff to us and make things clear for those dim wit economists that the world thought had excelled in their profession, but according to these two, didn't have a clue. They both speak of the Federal Reserve as though it is a government institution and consequently blame government for actions by the FED. In fact the FED is privately owned by those very individuals that Molyneux so easily praises. Neither of them appear to have any knowledge of what has been going on behind the scenes in the US governments and the FED since the time of Woodrow Wilson at the very least. It is a shame that so many who don't know US history and economics will be swayed by these two.
18. The cause of Great Depression 1 was the debt backed pyramid scam we have for a monetary system which inflates until it collapses.
19. I have a book for these fellows—since the Republican agenda, today, is an attack on EVERYTHING Christ stood for, and spoke out against, in short: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE A CHRISTIAN, AND VOTE REPUBLICAN, Amazon/Kindle