This delightful young fellow was born on August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa. His father was a blacksmith and farm implement store-owner. His parents were Quakers that were very active in church life. Neighbors described his father as a man with a sunny disposition; he often referred to his son as his “little stick in the mud” because of the boy’s propensity to get stuck while crossing a muddy road near their home. Sadly his father died in 1880 and four years later his mother also died, leaving him and his two siblings orphaned. His name was Herbert Clark Hoover and he would grow up to become the 31st President of the United States of America.
Herbert entered Stanford in 1891; finally declaring Geology as his major and while enrolled he interned with the US Geological Survey. After college he worked for several large mining companies and traveled all over the world. In 1908 he struck out on his own as a mining consultant and became a specialist in turning around struggling mining operations. He had investments in mines all over the globe and made so much money that he was able to retire in 1912.
Hoover then became involved in food distribution in Europe and it was this experience that led President Woodrow Wilson to appoint him to head the newly created US Food Administration. During World War I Hoover believed “food will win the war” and this became a slogan that was used throughout the war. Hoover went on to serve as Secretary of Commerce under President Calvin Coolidge and in 1928 became the favorite of the Republican Party for the nomination to be President.
His election spurred the stock market to higher levels as business supported his policy of less regulation and government intervention in private business. He felt it was the government’s duty to encourage public-private cooperation and through a balance of technology, labor and capitol, poverty would be banished from American life. He became known as a corporatist. By the way, he was a supporter of the country’s prohibition policies.
On October 29, 1929 the stock market began to plunge and the day became known as Black Tuesday. In 1930 unemployment was just under 9% and the consensus was the country was in another recession. But by 1932 unemployment was approaching 25% and the Great Depression was in full swing. Businesses began to default on loans and eventually over 5000 banks failed. Heavy industry and farming were particularly hard hit.
The Depression was not the fault of Hoover or any of his policies but how he reacted to it is of great interest. He was a big believer in balanced budgets and so when government revenue began to fall, his solution was to raise taxes. The Revenue Act of 1932 raised income taxes across the board with the top earners paying a rate of 63%, and included a two-cent tax on all checks written in the United States. History has now recorded that the check tax was a significant contributor to the shrinking of the economy during the depression, and was in part responsible for prolonging the misery.
So many people lost their homes that they began to live in shantytowns lovingly referred to as Hoovervilles.
The country needed a drink. Sorry, no can do, that’s not good for you or the moral health of the country.
Hoover’s response to the Depression coupled with his support of prohibition were a fatal combination and he lost the 1932 election to Franklin D. Roosevelt by a score of 57.4 % to 39.7%.
It is still too early to tell, but the consensus seems to be developing that 45 was elected because the American people are sick and tired of politics as usual and wanted someone that was not a career politician and would go to Washington and shake things up. So far, so good! 45 is the first President not to have previously held elective office since Dwight Eisenhower and the first businessman since Hoover.
On Tuesday May 6, Eric Trump appeared on the Sean Hannity show. Here is what the Dapper Dan man said about Democrats.
“I’ve never seen hatred like this, to me, they’re not even people. It’s so, so sad. Morality’s just gone, morals have flown out the window and we deserve so much better than this as a country.”
He’s right, we do deserve better, especially from him. How did we get to a place in this country where the “adult” son of the President feels comfortable saying this?
Hey Eric, remember when your dad was appealing to the “better angels of our nature” by asserting that Obama was not even an American? What about that grabbing women thing? Remember that? You can lecture me all you want on policy but you and your family don’t get to lecture me on morals, ever! Moral lessons from the Trump family. Are you frigging kidding me?
During he Obama Administration, nobody was happy with what was happening in Washington. Democrats believed that the Republicans were obstructing everything the President wanted to do and Republicans believed the President was a socialist with Mooslum leanings that wanted to destroy our Democracy.
As a result of that gridlock the American people decided to send someone vastly different to the sit in the big chair, someone that was not a career politician.
Please allow me to assert that American people got this partially right. People that choose to be legislators for their life long career quickly develop agendas that diverge greatly from the agenda of the people they are supposed to represent. This is not the original idea of this Tennessee redneck; it has been discussed for decades. The problem is it never changes.
While career legislators speak of service to America and to the hardworking people that sent them to Washington, to many Americans, their true agenda seems nothing more than doing what is required to get reelected. It takes pockets to be a legislator and being cooperative with the money interests goes a long way toward filling those pockets. To many Americans it feels like a quid pro qou. Heck, it is a quid pro quo!
The problem seems to me to be that everyone likes the people they send up there so the problem is not my guy; it’s your guy. Here is what happened in 2014.
Nobody thinks Congress is doing a good job. The 11% approval rating in 2014 is up to whopping 20% now, so I guess that is something. But again, we keep sending the same people up there. Why would we expect different results?
It matters little who the President is or what his/her agenda is if Congress is so self-absorbed, so consumed with career preservation, that they care for little except winning today’s news cycle, making the other side look stupid, holding on to their power and not offending their contributors. Although when you can’t get anything done, I am not sure you have much power.
I used to think that society, government and civilization itself had gotten so big and so complicated that we needed people with experience and institutional memory in Congress. This is one issue that I have done a complete 180 on. The only way out at this point is term limits, just do away altogether with the career of legislator. Let’s return to the idea of a citizen-run Congress and as the right is fond of saying, get back to the idea the Founding Fathers had in mind.
What do you think the chances are that career politicians are going to vote to eliminate their livelihoods, or vote to give up what they see as their power? Do you really think our Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker would ever vote to limit their time in the center of the universe?
Yea, me neither!
Time for a break. The RV is hooked up, the truck loaded and the little lady and I are gone to look for America.
No politics for the next month only America the Beautiful.
Love to All!