Thursday, June 18, 2009

Been There, Done That. Got the Cartoon.




This cartoon is from the Chicago Tribune, published in 1934. The guy on the ass is Rexford Tugwell, a New Deal agricultural economist. The other people in the wagon are also members of FDR's 'brain trust"--Ivy League social scientists and economists.




The sign on the side of the wagon says: "YOUNG PINKIES FROM COLUMBIA AND HARVARD"
The sign on the back of it says: "DEPLETING THE RESOURCES OF THE SOUNDEST GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD"
Stalin stands in the right foreground saying: "HOW RED THE SUNRISE IS GETTING" as the Brain Trustees throw bags of money into the mud.
At the bottom left, Karl Marx is seen painting a sign that says:
"PLAN OF ACTION FOR U.S.
________________________
SPEND! SPEND! SPEND
UNDER THE GUISE OF
RECOVERY--BUST THE
GOVERNMENT-- BLAME
THE CAPITALISTS FOR
THE FAILURE--
JUNK THE
CONSTITUTION
AND DECLARE
A
DICTATORSHIP"
To the side, Marx comments: "IT WORKED IN RUSSIA!"


What's that old crack about "those who fail to learn from history . . .?"
Except, at the beginning of the Great Depression, the U.S. government was in the black--thus "the soundest government in the world." This time we are so far in the red that the Pols don't even try to explain how we will repay it. We can't. We're not even SPEND! SPEND! SPENDing our own money.


Just one question. Are we doomed to repeat total war, too?


Edited once for clarity.EHL


7 comments:

ChristineMM said...

Bravo on the cartoon discussion!

ChristineMM said...

BTW have you read yet the new book "Can the World Afford Autistic Spectrum Disorder"?

Bad title. It is all about nonverbal communication and how an impairment in that can both lead to Autistic behavior and also cause a challenge for adults that leads them to more isolation from others which then causes more Autistic behaviors, interpersonal problems, job issues, that can also lead to mental illnesses (second diagnoses).

I'm almost done with the book.

IMO is not dumbed down enough for laypeople it speaks on a higher level to scientists and MDs who understand more of neurobiology or are more deeply working in the field of research or Autism related fields than a layperson.

Judy Aron said...

Oh man - how did you find that cartoon? I think this is "deja vu all over again" - yup, that cartoon could be slightly modified and totally work today.
Great Post! (as usual)

Elisheva Hannah Levin said...

Judy--The cartoon was sent to me by a member of our 9/12 group who is also a member of our New Mexico Patriot Alliance--our Committee of Correspondence.

Christine--I have not read the book. I'm going to have to find it. It sounds interesting.

Stephanie said...

Interesting cartoon! A lot of fodder for discussion there.

Amie said...

OMG! Change a few names and they could totally recycle that cartoon!

Brianna said...

You got that cartoon from a 9/12'ver, eh? Not surprised. Glenn Beck showed it on his show, which is where I saw it first (I don't watch every night, but I keep track).

"Just one question. Are we doomed to repeat total war, too?"

I don't know if you've heard of the theory of Generational Dynamics. The basic idea is that generations are cyclical: countries and peoples go through a circle that starts with a crisis, which the people learn from and work to avoid... until the next generations come of age who haven't learned the lessons of their parents, and the cycle starts anew. If correct, it unfortunately pretty much guarantees there will be a war, which is why I bring it up. You can check it out

http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi-bin/D.PL?s=OJ9NBT&d=ww2010.home