those who worried about the fact that this brave new world of finance lacked a safety net were dismissed as hopelessly old-fashioned. In fact, however, we were partying like it was 1929 — and now it’s 1930.
For those (many) commentators who insist that it’s not going to be so bad, it’s worth looking at what the commentators either side of the 1929 crash were saying. For example:
“We will not have any more crashes in our time.”
- John Maynard Keynes in 1927
and
“… a serious depression seems improbable; [we expect] recovery of business next spring, with further improvement in the fall.”
- HES, November 10, 1929
and
“All safe deposit boxes in banks or financial institutions have been sealed… and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of the I.R.S.”
- President F.D. Roosevelt, 1933
