reply to post by semperfortis
National debt was 117.5, 121.7 and 110.3 percent of GDP in 1945, 1946 and 1947. This was right after World War Two when the US spent a fortune to
rebuild Europe and Japan after we defeated both in the war while eliminating Hitler. Today the national debt as a percentage of GDP is estimated to be
66.1%, nearly half what it was when we were rebuilding Europe and Japan much like we are attempting to do today in Iraq.
investment.suite101.com...
Debt is Good? Forget Ben Franklin's "a penny saved is a penny earned." Hence MORE debt is MORE good? I guess that argument ends when we say to be
ALL debt is BEST? Using the lowest number furnished above the recommended debt is $16.45 t. ($14 t. GDP) That would equal $1 t. a year in interest. Uh
oh, I see a huge tax increase in the offing! Q. Is this new economic theory from George Orwell’s
1984?
World War Two was an anomaly. Then is not now.
For the only time in American history, our national survival was at stake. “No cost would be too great to pay, no burden would be too heavy to
carry.” As a fact, we lost about 400,000 KIA during that war. Out of a population of 130 million. Throughout the war 16 million men wore the uniform
and as many as 13 million were in uniform at the close of the war, VJ-Day, September, 1945. By VJ Day we had already discharged 3 million men! 12% of
our population had been in uniform! And yes,
we had 45,000 MIA but we did not CRY-BABY about it. We took our lumps and moved on. “Closure”
had not yet been invented. You had to do your own closing. Aside: It could be argued that the 1775-1783 period and 1861-1865 period also threatened
national survival but I see those 2 events as significantly different. In neither case would we have been ruled by foreign masters. Nor would we have
had death camps and slave labor - for whites. End
Savings reached levels not before and never since reached. As a elementary school child I took a nickel to school each Friday and bought a Savings
Stamp, stuck it in my booklet, and when it was filled, I tuned it in for a $25 war bond. Outdoor advertising urged “Save 10% to Defeat the Axis!”
Companies that achieved 100% enrollment in a “Bond a Month” plan were given an Army-Navy ‘E’ award and and 'E' flag to fly. ‘E’ stood
for Excellence. Non-participating workers were lectured occasionally by traveling Treasury agents. Double features were the order of the day at movie
theaters. Usually one A movie was followed by a B movie. At intermission, the lights go on and the PA announced "War bonds are for sale in the
lobby!"
The local War Labor Board regulated where persons worked. If you were needed in Plant A but worked at Plant B, then you could be reassigned to Plant
A. To change jobs you have to have permission of the War Labor Board. Workers were given a half day off with pay for each pint of blood they donated
to the Red Cross. Workers (donors) vied for the Gallon Club awards and lapel pins. Shoes, sugar, cooking oil, coffee, chocolate, leather goods, were
rationed. Red meat was rationed. Gasoline, motor oil and tires were rationed. The local Ration Board issued the necessary coupon books and food
tokens. If for some reason you needed more, you applied to the Board which would review your application.
A national speed limit of 35 mph was set. To get extra gasoline to drive to and from work you had to share rides with fellow workers. To make sure you
did not “tell a lie” the riders had to sign a form and the employer had to verify it. You could then turn in your ‘A’ sticker - 3 gallons a
month - and receive a ‘C’ sticker - a variable amount based on miles driven and your cars rated mpg. Doctors made house calls then, and police and
fire cars got a ‘B’ sticker and a gasoline allotment based on prior usage.
Rents were fixed. The OPA - Office of Price Administration - set the price for all rationed goods. There were no new houses built between 1942 and
late 1943. You could not move without an occupancy permit from the OPA, which included the amount of rent to be paid the landlord or owner.
Profiteering was a crime. There was an EXCESS PROFITS tax on corporations. That alone makes WW2 an anomaly. We need that law again!
1943 was the turning year of the War. The Russians had destroyed the Germans at Stalingrad. They had held on to Leningrad for 900 days. We had
invaded Italy. The war in the Pacific had turned around. Our victory in the Battle of Guadalcanal made Australia safe. The Battle of Midway was the
decisive naval engagement. Our ship construction industry was outperforming our grandest expectations. Thanks in part to Henry J. Kaiser. It was time
to resume new home construction because we KNEW then we would win the war! Winston Churchill is said to have jumped for joy when he heard the news
about the December 7 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. “We have won the war” he is said to have exclaimed.
America was SERIOUS about waging a war of survival. THEN. War today is a political ploy.
Correlation - concurrent - is not causation - the result of. Simultaneous, yes, but that does not mean the one caused the other. Circumstances
were so much different in a million little and some big ways that it is not legitimate (not honest) to compare the DEBT incurred in WW2 with the
federal debt incurred afterwards.
I have said a lot to say this: There is no correlation between national debt in the 1940s era and national debt incurred since the advent of Reaganism
in 1980. None.
A Personal Note. I was one of 8 males in my generation. I was too young to go to war. One of my aunts had 4 sons. One was in the Navy at
Pensacola. Another was a Navy Sea Bee - Construction Battalion - combat engineers - and was in the Pacific. Her 3rd son served in France. Her 4th son
was in Army basic training when the War ended. VJ-Day. Another aunt’s only son was in the submarine service and he died, him being the only casualty
of the War in my family. Another aunt’s son won the Purple Heart and Bronze Star in the Battle of the Ardennes - a/k/a “Battle of the Bulge.” My
last cousin to serve in the War achieved the family’s highest rank - E7 - Master Sergeant. He was also the only one who was a conscientious
objector. Back then they stamped your personnel file with 1 inch tall bold black letters “C O.” Lest anyone forget. Then, to further show our LOVE
for CO’s, they were almost 100% assigned to be medical corpsmen. Since they did not believe in killing, we put them on the front line but kept them
unarmed! God Bless America. Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.
I have called World War 2 the "War we all loved." Yes of course, excluding those who died or were maimed and their families and friends. But for the
rest of us, it was an experience that will never be repeated. I'm grateful to have lived then. It was truly
the BEST of times, the WORST of
times. Charles Dickens,
A Tale of Two Cities.
[edit on 4/12/2008 by donwhite]
