Comments on: Depression, Recession, Downturn—Whatever

By: Wealth Alchemist

Wealth Alchemist — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:19:25 +0000

Very Good post on reminding how we still all have despite this downturn. Hopefully recession will bottom and economy will recover soon in late 2009/early 2010:

http://www.wealthalchemist.com/Blog/2009/03/economy-bottom-mid2010/

By: Deployed Teacher

Deployed Teacher — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:14:53 +0000

Dr. Hanson,
Currently in Afghansitan, born and raised in Fresno and know Selma, Fowler, and Kingsburg well. Had a similar experience with my grandfather. He used to take us in his beat up Chevy pickup and show us around Fresno’s “West Side” in the late 60′s, early 70′s, until we grew into teens and were to cool to be seen in his truck, although we grandkids never tired of driving it, or him around, once we got our license. Looking back, those were good days, seeing Fresno from his perspective. I miss that raw, youthful innocence.
Are you coming back to Afghanistan anytime soon. Many changes in the next few months, an interesting time to be here. Some notable authors/journalists are scheduled to be here soon, might you join them?

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:49:23 +0000

Water purification systems.
Ammunition.
Soap.
Toilet paper.
Pharmaceuticals.
vitamin and mineral supplements.
Seeds.
Extreme weather protection.
Gold.

In that order.

Go.

By: class clown

class clown — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:29:55 +0000

6: psota

I could almost hear the voice of my own feisty grandmother in your comment. “all you had to do was sit there and wait for it to end”. She and grandpa made it through the Depression in Arizona (in the midst of it moving to Southern California, back before it went of the deep end). She used to tell me that “we were so poor we didn’t know there even WAS a depression until the newspapers told us so!”

By: Austerity Notes « phaidimoi logoi

Austerity Notes « phaidimoi logoi — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 21:34:29 +0000

[...] Victor Davis Hanson writes about his grandfather during the Depression and tries to cheer us all up.

By: Vivien Lewis

Vivien Lewis — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:30:38 +0000

Whenever I spot one of your articles, I ignore all the others and read yours first. I always wondered what kind of lifestyle you lead. One should never assume anything about others because I never imagined you had this kind of background and history, and lived so close to the land. Wondrous reflections. Thank you sir.

By: Cranky Greg

Cranky Greg — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:10:04 +0000

I love reading VDH!! Great entry. I agree with VDH for the most part, but I am not as optimistic about the future as he. I am a real pessimist because I believe things will get worse than the Great Depression.

Certainly, though, VDH makes some great points….

By: whyyeseyec

whyyeseyec — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:39:56 +0000

Obama has been in office one month. Since Jan 20 the stock market is down 2000 points, unemployment has skyrocketed, banks are failing, the national debt has doubled and zero continues to talk down the economy.

Plans are being formed behind the scene to nationalize the banks, health care, energy, the auto industry, tax the air, the water, your toilet flushing, food (fast and slow), I could go on and on.

Business is scared to do anything. Nobody knows what to do with what little money they have left.

Americans are being bombarded with leftist dribble daily. I`m almost afraid to turn on the news for fear of an anxiety attack setting in.

What was it FDR said in the 30`s? The only thing we have to fear is Obama itself….

Where is our Supreme Court?? Have they looked at any of the junk inserted in the pork bill? Is this thing unconstitutional??

I`m ready to start impeachment proceedings. What about you?

This man is determined to crush the American spirit.

Only 47 months to go………..

By: TBranin

TBranin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:17:46 +0000

Dear Professor Hanson:
Beautiful essay!
I wonder whether the character formed by the Great Depression’s deprivations helped us win WWII? I was born in 1939 and so I was a depression baby. My mother told me often how she supported herself, two sisters, their husbands, her sister’s two children and brother-in-law, and her mother and father, in one house on her salary alone in the South Jersey suburbs. Mother never felts herself a victim. She loved life and had her basic fundamentalist Christian faith. She attended Holy Communion regularly until the leftist lean of the Episcopal Church – tolerance of homosexuality – drove her out. My father died when I was 17. My mother never slacked in her efforts at self-reliance and supporting me until I left home. She died in 1995. I will miss her always.
At any rate, from the few veterans of Iraq whom I have met, to a man they are an intelligent, hard working, patriotic, and loyal group. My point is that the backbone showed by the Depression era generation is still there but covered with a thick layer of blubber.

Bless you VDH!

By: Marc Malone

Marc Malone — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:32:32 +0000

I find it interesting that the conservative voices here all have the same background stories to share. The common link is that somewhere in their lifetimes, or that of their parents, was a farm or the like.

When I was a teen, we got welfare. My Dad just wouldn’t work, but he would work the system. However, he did have farm experience, so we ended up raising hogs and chickens, and such. Well, I did. He drank. There were other farms in the area, and I made a little money, here and there, doing the tough jobs of ditch-digging, field-clearing, fence-building, and manure-shovelling.

When I went into the service, the vets loved me. I was a good ‘cruit. My peers didn’t love me so much. They just wanted a paycheck.

I reviled Carter, and was very happy with Reagan, although I was, (I thought) apolitical. Only later did I learn that my peers had liberal bents. These were folks who had prosperous youths. I had suffered much, gone hungry a lot, and worked hard when possible. I never had a liberal thought in my life as a result. Liberalism is for idle hands.