Federal meddling harms businesses

It is a very interesting observation from a historical point of view that history repeats itself. Let us examine the last Depression. Few of us are left who lived during that period. Back in 1929 during the stock market crash, the unemployment rate never went as high as 10 percent. But with government intervention unemployment never went below 20 percent during any month over a period of 39 months.

In later years, it was strongly agreed by financial analysts that the Federal Reserve mishandled its job. Milton Friedman said the Fed was grossly inept. And Kenneth Galbraith stated that the Federal Reserve was startlingly incompetent.

Congress raised tax rates under Herbert Hoover, and when Franklin Roosevelt came in he raised them even higher - thus causing less purchasing power to buy goods, which caused businesses to fail and unemployment to rise. There were nine years of double-digit unemployment. The only way out was to be in a war.

What does our government want to do now? President Reagan in 1987 had a stock market crash and he left business alone. It recovered quickly and we had 20 years of prosperity.

Doesn't anyone read history and learn from it? You can't raise taxes in order to stimulate jobs. Our government has not learned, partially because of the exorbitant number of intellectuals in it who have never been in business and experienced the problems it has.

I hope the next administration repeals a big majority of bills that were passed recently as they are counterproductive for the American people.

Conrad Mazeski

Mount Prospect