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Are We Repeating the 20's? A Perspective. [1]

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Date: 2025-02-16

Author's Note. This article is for historical context. It doesn't reflect my view. I was just looking for some historical context to better understand what happened in 2024. The year I go back to is 1920 but the start of it happened a little before that.

The Obama - Biden domestic policy much mirrored the policy of both presidents of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt was best known for fighting railroad rates. He was known for being a trust buster. He thought big businesses were not acting in the best interest of the American people and when the party went further to the right he left and formed the Bull Moose Party and that is where the progressive idea was born. Woodrow Wilson adopted alot of progressive ideas. Like Roosevelt, Wilson signed bills to create the Federal Trade Commission better known as the FTC and established the federal reserve.

After three Bush terms and two Reagan terms it is fair to say that wall street got by with almost zero regulation. Obama signed the Dodd Frank Act in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Healthcare and Wall Street Reform were big parts of the Obama presidency. Joe Biden and Woodrow Wilson were both historically unpopular and were aging towards the end of the presidency. Both only served one term. In fact Woodrow Wilson passed away four years after he left office. This brings me to the presidential election of 1920.

1920 like 2024 was a reactionary election.Warren G. Harding like Donald Trump in 2024 was promising to take America back to some golden era were things were much simpler. It worked, Harding got full control of congress and totally transformed the government. America was taken over by a bunch of corrupt pro lobbyist politicians who hated immigrants. Warren G. Harding like Trump wasn't corrupt himself but he picked not so good people to surround himself with. They included Harry Daugherty ( Hardings version of Musk) , Albert Fall and the Ohio Gang who frankly were more corrupt than Al Capone. Al Capone at least thought he was benefiting the city.

The secretary of the treasury was the father of trickle down economics Andrew Mellon. Who literally had his name on a financial institution. Calvin Coolidge was Harding’s VP who, like JD Vance, was a puppet for corporate America. Coolidge is even on record saying that “ Chief business of the American people is business. The revenue act of 1924 mirrors the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the Bush tax cuts. Now the Republicans of the 1920s regulated Wall Street by not regulating Wall Street. They cut the corporate tax rate two different times. This worked out well because it created an economy fueled by credit. They also favored high tariffs and products made in the US which all this put together built a decade known as the roaring 20s. Americans prospered only for about six or seven years.

We may have a decade like the roaring 20s. Much like then our economy is fueled by credit. Most Americans pay a mortgage, have multiple credit cards and have a car loan. It will be interesting to see if we will get an interest rate cut or not. My bet is yes in a month or two. Then things will really roar. More people will buy houses, cars, boats. Get loans to go on vacations where they will use two of the three credit cards they have. The credit fueled economy will really take off. There are also other things to consider.

2024 Trump is different than 2025 Trump. The authoritarian talk is part of Trump’s WMD. ( Weapons of Mass Distraction). It's pretty clear to me that like Harding. Trump is not calling the shots. You think the rapid rise of JD Vance is an accident. When Trump was president the first time. Vance was in silicon valley working for Peter Thiel. Suzie Wiles is not Reince Priebus. Reince was and is still an idiot. I am also willing to bet that the 25th amendment has already been discussed. Look at how silent he was during the musk press conference. I will even go far as to say that I don't think he will serve a full four years. Now you will say I am delusional and I don't blame you. Suzie Wiles is Chief of staff. She was instrumental in turning Florida into a red state. You don’t see Rick Scott being named VP for a Vance Presidency.

The conclusion is that with all the political jockeying and talk about some bygone era is mute if the economy falters. Much like it did after the roaring 20s. The pro wall street policies are only good for short term gains. You may seem rich if you get that ten thousand dollar loan but that bill will come due and much like America in 1929 or 2008. If you are not on sustainable ground. You could fall through.

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[1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/16/2304179/-Are-We-Repeating-the-20-s-A-Perspective?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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