Quote Originally Posted by ODB View Post
Thought about WWII. I still wonder was it the policies prior to the war or the war that got the economy rolling again or both?
as most of the pre war policies contributed to lengthening the depression. Those of us alive back then didn't question what made the difference.
Didn't think about the 60s, didn't know the economy wasn't good then, thought that didn't hit till the 70s. Thank you for the historical perspective.
This is the fifth recession since the depression. First one after the war was 53-54 -- worse than any of the others so far including this one. Next on after the early 60s was 73-75 -- it was worse than this one so far. 'Nother in 80-2, not as bad as this one. Last one before now, 2001, was the mildest. There have been a few other dips that were technically recessive but those are the big five.

It's also noteworthy that there has been one after every war as the economy readjusts. That's why I'm not losing a whole lot of sleep over this one.
...but would it be used today if there was no war?
Probably not, there'd be no advantage. I still can't follow your logic. If the son or daughter is active, they cannot do that in uniform. If they're Guard or Reserve, it's dicey and would depend on circumstance but I cannot see the link of that to the active forces being apolitical.
There being different rules governing the Guard/Reserves is good, but one should not be able to serve or run for office while serving in the Guard/Reserves, kind of a conflict of interest IMO.
I don't think religious Clerics should be able to run for office but they do. Lately, I'm considering that Lawyers should not be able (talk about a conflict of interest...).

On the Guard and Reserve, I'm inclined to agree with you but they can, the rationale is that they are citizens first and soldiers second. It used to be that logic was reversed for the active folks. That's no longer true and I have no particular heartburn about that. I don't fully agree but it sure isn't a burning issue with me.

Still, the Guard and Reserve are different, they can run for office and do -- which is why the Guard and Reserve have so much political clout -- confirming your objection as valid...