011

The Truth About The Great Depression, with Lawrence W. Reed

Subscribe to the Podcast

Lawrence W. Reed

Mr. Reed is President emeritus of The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), having served as president from 2008 to 2019. He is an economist and historian, a popular speaker, and an author of many articles and several books.

Mr. Reed taught economics at Northwood University, Michigan from 1977-1984, and was president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy from 1987-2008. He has visited or traveled in 87 countries; and is recognized as a champion of liberty and moral character, especially among people of the former Soviet bloc.

Summary – The Truth About The Great Depression, with Larry Reed

An interview with Lawrence W. Reed, President emeritus of The Foundation for Economic Education, about his booklet Great Myths of the Great Depression. We talk about the Progressive Era as the context for the government policies that brought about the Great Depression, and discuss several commonly misunderstood elements that caused or perpetuated the Great Depression. We conclude with a note about personal character. [Episode 11 direct download]

See the Reformed Libertarianism Statement section on Economics

Main Points of Discussion

00:00 Introduction
00:32 Episode description
Book discussed: Great Myths of the Great Depression
01:51 About Mr. Reed
Books by Mr. Reed
03:07 Mr. Reed’s background and faith
07:13 Jesus is NOT a socialist
09:56 The Progressive Era
15:34 Progressive population control
The eugenics movement, by Bradley Thomas
18:27 Monetary policy and the Fed
24:21 Tariffs, income tax, and stifling trade
29:06 New Deal disasters
34:32 Government causes inflation
36:21 Wagner Act disasters
41:12 Minimum wage
44:59 The importance of personal character

 

Additional Resources

The Reformed Libertarians Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute  and a member of the Christians for Liberty Network

Comment & Subscribe