Great Depression Essay

Sonora McHan

Brother Johnson

FDAMF Section 17

November 22, 2011

Free Market during the Great Depression

            The Great Depression was NOT caused by a failure of the free market and it was not resolved by government intervention.  In fact government intervention actually worsened the Great Depression greatly.  In recessions of the past the free market recovered after a year or two, but because of government intervention the Great Depression lasted for a whole decade.

            In Great Myths of the Great Depression by Lawrence W. Reed it says, “The calamity that

began in 1929 lasted at least three times longer than any of the country’s previous depressions because the government compounded its initial errors with a series of additional and harmful interventions.” The economy would have recovered if the government would have stayed out of it. Capitalism is a good thing, the myth that the government saved our country from the Great Depression is outrageous.

            It is a myth that Herbert Hoover had a laissez-fair approach to the economy. When the Great Depression began, Hoover took action. “During the campaign, Roosevelt blasted Hoover for spending and taxing too much, boosting the national debt, choking off trade, and putting millions on the dole. He accused the president of reckless and extravagant spending” (Lawrence Reed).  Does that sound like a “hands off” approach to you? Me neither, Hoover was definitely involved in the economy and so was Roosevelt once he became President.

            It is also a myth that the stock market crash caused the Great Depression.  Brother Johnson said in class that, “The stock market crash did not cause the Great Depression. The stock market crash was the first time that people realized that our economy was in trouble.” The crash was just the beginning of the Great Depression, but it did not cause it.

            When Roosevelt was President he created the New Deal. The New Deal was unconstitutional, and based on Roosevelt’s view of government intervention when he was a governor, he believed deep down that it was unconstitutional as well.  “We didn’t admit it at the time, but practically the whole New Deal was extrapolated from programs the Hoover started” (Economist, Roosevelt Brain-Trust, Rexford Guy Tugwell). Of course they didn’t admit it! It would have damaged Roosevelt’s policies and in the long run his Presidency. Under the New Deal there were such things as the Emergency Banking Relief Act of 1933, The Economy Act, Agricultural Adjustment Act, Federal Securities Act, and many more.  All of these programs were implemented in the first 100 days of Roosevelt’s Presidency, and most if not all of them were detrimental to the economy.

            There are enough facts to fill at least 20 pages as to why the free market was definitely not a cause of the Great Depression and why government intervention was. I have named a few of the extremely important ones. If the government would have let the free market thrive on its own, the Great Depression would have never happened. I am sure that the Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt thought that they were saving the economy, but in reality they were putting it in a hangman’s noose. Today the economy is approaching what it was in the 1930s. Our Government is interfering with the economy. Not only is this not helping anything, it is unconstitutional. Government should not be a part of the economy at all.

Charter City Essay

Sonora McHan

Brother Johnson

November 8, 2011

American Foundations Section 17

Sunnyvale

            First of all if I were to create a city in some uninhabited part of the globe I would have to give it a name. If I were to name a city it would have to be named Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale would be on an island in the Pacific Ocean and everyone would want to live there because of the Free Market Economy and equal opportunity for everyone.

            The first thing that I would do after establishing Sunnyvale of course is write a constitution. The United States Constitution was absolutely instrumental in the economic growth of the United States. I would make sure that my constitution established freedoms and liberties, and that it stated that there would be no unfair taxation or seizing of property. I would have a constitution that made it possible for the economy to grow.

             In Brother Johnson’s paper, The Success of an Idea: American Economic Development, 1787-2010 he states, “As laws are enacted that infringe upon the right to property, a market economy is replaced by some other system. For this reason the free market economy can be appropriately labeled the private property order.” It is essential to have a Constitution so that there are not laws that are made that ruin the free market economy in Sunnyvale. “We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.” (D&C 134 v. 2; see also 3 Nephi 3) The scriptures state that there must be a constitution and God inspired the scriptures so there MUST be a constitution in Sunnyvale.

            President Benson said, “A free market is the right to voluntary exchange of goods and services free from restraints and controls.” So Sunnyvale would have to be a free city, where people could exchange goods without worrying that the government would put an unfair tax on the goods. The government of Sunnyvale would also not be able to seize goods at will.  President Benson also said, “A free market survives on competition.” This is very true, there would have to be competition in Sunnyvale as well.

            In I Pencil it talks about the invisible hand, “In a market economy, when I act in my own self-interest I am guided by the invisible hand to act in the interest of others.” This statement indicates that we as a people do nothing because we “love” others; we do it because it will help us. But because we do things that will help us, we ultimately help others. The invisible hand would be very prevalent in Sunnyvale. The invisible hand would help guide the free market in Sunnyvale.

            In the movie Greed it asks, “Are business men evil?” In the film it answers this question it talks about how no one is forced to buy goods off of businessmen, and that dictators are much worse than businessmen because they take money by force. Businessmen do not take money; they earn it fair and square. The movie also talked about how Red Cross lifeguards are not as good as lifeguards who are trained by a profit organization. This is true because there is and incentive to work hard and be alert when there is someone watching you, and the Red Cross doesn’t watch its lifeguards, but profit organizations do. In Sunnyvale the companies would need to watch their employees to make sure that they are performing well, so that the company can progress economically. People slack off on work if they believe that they will not get caught and then even if they do get caught there will be no consequences, in Sunnyvale people would not behave in this manner.  They would know the consequences of inaction and therefore they would do what they were supposed to do to be able to help Sunnyvale grow.

            The movie on greed stated that, “Greed is not a bad thing as long as it helps the economy grow,” just because another person makes money does not mean that someone else is getting less money. Greed can be a good motivator in a free market economy as long as it doesn’t become too much, or too selfish.

            Marion G. Romney talks about the United Order in the general conference report, 1966. He defines it as “The United Order the Lord's program for eliminating the inequalities among men, is based upon the underlying concept that the earth and all things therein belong to the Lord and that men hold earthly possessions as stewards accountable to God.” In Sunnyvale, the people would live by the United Order so that everyone understood that Gad created everything that they have and that without Him they would have nothing. Sunnyvale would have a United Order because it makes having a free market so much easier. The United Order creates peace and harmony among people and that is how I would want my city of Sunnyvale to be.

            To recap, Sunnyvale would have a constitution, a free market economy, the invisible hand, the United Order, and of course a little bit of Greed. All of these components would combine together to make Sunnyvale a city of opportunity. People would come from everywhere just to be able to taste of this opportunity.

Federalist 51

Sonora McHan

Brother Johnson

October 13, 2011

American Foundations

Section 17

Federalist 51

            In Federalist 51 James Madison Stated, “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” This is the question that I will address in my essay.

            Madison poses a paradox in Federalist 51. He expresses that, “It is equally evident, that the members of each department should be as little dependent as possible on those of the others,” This means that the individual government departments should be as self-reliant as possible, but at the same time check and balance each other.

            The Constitution helped to make the division of powers by establishing checks and balances.  It did this by making the separation of powers, and sovereignty. In separation of powers three divisions are made, the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches. Each has their specific purpose. The Legislative branch has the ability to make laws, the Executive branch signs the bills into law or vetoes them, in which case the bill goes back to Congress and they can override it or let it die. The Judicial branch interprets the law. Sovereignty allows the states and the federal government to have separate governments while still being a part of the same government.

            The Constitution also came up with the idea of federalism. It outlines the things that the state governments can do that the Federal government can’t do. Some of these items are: marriage and divorce laws, medical, health and Obama care, and education laws. The federal government is not supposed to be able to infringe upon these, but they do anyway. Our value of the constitution has decreased over the years; many say that it is a living document and should change with the times. I say that the Constitution was inspired of God and written so that we could use it in these latter days.

            James Madison states in Federalist 51 two considerations that are particularly applicable to the federal system of America. They are 1^st, “In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government,” and 2^nd, “It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers.” These go along perfectly with Madison’s idea of federalism and that a separation of powers must be present in order for a government to succeed. These same values are in the Constitution today.

Our Constitution

Sonora McHan

Brother Johnson

American Foundations

Section 17

October 5, 2011

The Inspired Constitution

            What about our Constitution was inspired? There are many aspects of the document that were inspired; actually virtually all of it was inspired. I hope to hit some key reasons as to what parts were inspired. I would also like to answer another question. How is it that our Constitution was inspired?

            One part of the Constitution that was inspired is the preamble. It begins, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union….” These words are amazing! Imagine, we the people, that statement united the people of the American continent. I believe that the statement, “a more perfect union,” was inspired by God because the only way to come close to perfect is to be close to God. The founding fathers would not have made this statement if they weren’t close to God.

            The Preamble to the Constitution also states that they will, “Insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” How could they make such a promise if they did not have the power of God behind them? They wrote this constitution not only for the people of that day, but they had the foresight to write it for us in these latter days as well. They knew that his document would stand as a beacon of hope for centuries.

            The founding fathers also wrote that the government should be split into three separate branches, Judicial, Executive, and Legislative. They made a system of checks and balances. They knew without this system, power would become unequal and the government would become corrupt. This was inspired of God, because God doesn’t want us or our government to become corrupt either, (of course it really is quite corrupt as of today’s date even with the checks and balances.) God wanted our nation to be powerful but for the power to rest in the hands of his people, not just a few select individuals.

            Article IV section 1 states that, “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State.  And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.” The word faith is used in this section; it indicates that they put their full trust in the state governments and congress. This government was built so that we could trust each other, and have no fear of backstabbing or mudslinging. It was made so that we could all be united and have peace and harmony among us. This was God’s plan.

            The Bill of Rights that was added to the constitution was inspired of God too. All of the amendments were written for a purpose. We have the right to bear arms, the right to the free exercise of religion, the freedom of speech and press and assembly. We have many more freedoms, freedoms that are not offered in any other country. Our constitution was inspired of God because it gave us many of the rights that we will have when the millennium begins. We will be a free people; I guess God wanted us to get a taste of freedom now.

            How is it that the Constitution was inspired? The Constitution could not have been written off the top of someone’s head. The Book of Mormon could not have been written off the top of someone’s head. They were both written and inspired by God. Even though the colonists in 1787 did not have the gospel, they believed in God and even prayed for his help in writing the Constitution. They were laying the groundwork for a nation in which the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints could be restored and established. They even had their temple work done by a future Prophet of God. These men were close to God; they followed his counsel and prayed for his help. What about the constitution is NOT inspired by God?