The Great Depression: A Diary

The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth

This is an interesting tale of the great depression as it unfolded written from a middle class point of view. The author consolidated his father's journals of the experience as a lawyer in the depression. As it unfolds, there are many "false recoveries". He compares them to previous experiences. Is this the time to jump back in? Or will things get worse. The big problem is that nobody has money to jump back in. It is interesting to see how the legal system falls apart. A potential client seeks approaches him regarding an auto accident. However, the culprit has no resources to pay a settlement. Thus there would be no point in a lawsuit. Similarly contracts become difficult to enforce because people do not have resources. 

In the process, he analyzes the best way to invest. Quality is important. There were speculators that lost huge amounts and never have a chance of recovery. Those that invested in quality have hope to preserve for the long term. Having non-leveraged reserves can give you the chance to take advantage of fire sales.

The author also has as somewhat objective view of the New Deal as it progressed. There were big concerns about removal from the gold standard. However, with other countries doing it, it becomes hard not to. Some of the work projects seem to involve "make work", while others are beyond the law. Paying promised bonuses to veterans is a key part in getting economy back together. The government became much more involved in society. The upper class often foot the bill, while the lower class got the benefits. The middle class is stuck in the middle. There were concerns about too much government dependency. Government intervention was gradually unwound, though in a piecemeal basis that left winners and losers - and kept a number of dependents.