Assignment 2

Arthur Robertson
Robertson was a business mogul during the Great Depression. He talked about how the lack of regulations lead to shady business in the stock market. He also explained how, people's habits of buying what they couldn't afford on credit lead to the great depression.
It is easy to see the parallels from the Great Depression to our recent recession. Many people use credit cards, and end up with large quantities of credit card debt, because they are spending money they don't have. It is important for people to understand their past, so they can learn for the future. This is a prime example of that, as many people today are making the same mistakes as these other people have made during the depression. Another interesting concept to think about, is government regulation, and the fine line between freedom and safety. In the stock market many people took advantage of loopholes, which allowed them to make large sums of money at other's expenses. The government had to step in in order to save the problem, but when do too many regulations limit a person's economic freedom in the free market economy? These questions still loom today, citing another connection from the past to the future.

Oscar Heline
Heline was a farmer who wrote new laws to help farmers during the Great Depression. He told how many farmers would be burning food, in order to raise the prices, despite many people going hungry.
Many farmers lived in difficult situations, only making enough money to barely get by. The legislation that the farmers themselves passed, helped them recover out of the situation. This shows how people should take a more active role in government, as they know their industry better than anyone else. The paradox between the farmers burning their food and killing their pigs in order to make more money seemed appalling. Hopefully in the future we will be able to make sure that the people who work hard to provide our country with food are treated fairly.