Quote:
Originally Posted by aceventura3
I think the clear lasting spark for the economy was war production and productivity gains from the innovations during that period.
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That could be, but one thing that's often overlooked is that in terms of living conditions, the wartime period was even WORSE than during the Depression itself. There was rationing, even longer bread lines, etc. Unemployment dropped because we were suddenly making tanks, but a lot of that was from people who had never previously been employed (and who were therefore not counted in previous unemployment figures)--think Rosie the Riveter. Many of the previously unemployed went and died in trenches, which isn't exactly a step up if you ask me. In short, the wartime numbers were higher on the economy, but people didn't really SEE anything from that, mostly that was being spent on the war itself.
It was actually the post-war era when the real results started showing up on the street, economically speaking. By then there were LOTS of factors coming to bear on the economy well beyond simple government expenditure. In that sense, it's not really accurate to say that war spending was what ended the Great Depression. At least, it's an oversimplification.