--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The government is now in a position to do…" description: "\"The government is now in a position to do what Franklin D. Roosevelt did during the Great Depression of the 1930s - use a crisis of the times to create..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c47/thomas-sowell-247_1930s_the-government-is-now-in-a-position-to-d_2165928.jpg" --- # The government is now in a position to do what Franklin D… ![“The government is now in a position to do what Franklin D. Roosevelt did during the Great Depression of the 1930s - use a crisis of the times to create new institutions that will last for generations. To this day, we are still subsidizing millionaires in agriculture because farmers were having a…” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c47/thomas-sowell-247_1930s_the-government-is-now-in-a-position-to-d_2165928.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c47/thomas-sowell-247_1930s_the-government-is-now-in-a-position-to-d_2165928.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c47/thomas-sowell-247_1930s_the-government-is-now-in-a-position-to-d_2165928.jpg) > “The government is now in a position to do what Franklin D. Roosevelt did during the Great Depression of the 1930s - use a crisis of the times to create new institutions that will last for generations. To this day, we are still subsidizing millionaires in agriculture because farmers were having a tough time in the 1930s.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic crises can be leveraged to build lasting institutions, but subsidies may persist beyond their original purpose. **In simple terms:** Crises create lasting institutions; subsidies persist. Key Takeaway Use crises to build lasting institutions, reassess outdated subsidies. Themes economics policy history Mood critical analytical Type policy historical When to use this quote - government budgeting - agricultural policy - institutional reform - public debate Key Concepts institution building public finance legacy effects Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance urgent reforms with long‑term fairness? - What mechanisms prevent outdated subsidies from lingering? A Different Perspective New institutions may face political resistance and unintended consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1930s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1930s-382/) [1930S Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1930s-use-4616667/) [Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agriculture/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Depression 1930S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression-1930s-1449823/) [Farmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farmers/) [Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/franklin/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Great depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-depression/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Millionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millionaire/) [Millionaires Agriculture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millionaires-agriculture-4616666/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Subsidizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsidizing-503807/) [Subsidizing Millionaires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsidizing-millionaires-4616665/) [This day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-day/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough/) [Tough time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-time/) [Tough times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tough-times/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [The Great Depression of the 1930s saw more American unmarried women working from nine to five, mostly in repetitive, boring, subordinate, dead-end jobs. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/the-great-depression-of-the-1930s-saw-more-american-unmarried-women/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [I think that when the education system started to be dismantled during the first Great Depression in the 1930s, we didn't recover from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-think-that-when-the-education-system-started-to-be-dismantled/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [Discussions of the economy, especially during times of crisis, are often framed in terms of lessons we supposedly learned during the Depression of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-woods/discussions-of-the-economy-especially-during-times-of-crisis-are/) [Thomas Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-woods/) > [My parents were children during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and it scarred them. Especially my father, who saw destitution in his Brooklyn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/my-parents-were-children-during-the-great-depression-of-the-1930s-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [You would think that the U.S. government would not think that American firms needed subsidizing to function in developing countries, provide advice, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/you-would-think-that-the-u-s-government-would-not-think-that-american/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [The government decides to try to increase the middle class by subsidizing things that middle class people have: If middle-class people go to college…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-reynolds/the-government-decides-to-try-to-increase-the-middle-class-by/) [Glenn Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-reynolds/) > [“For in the United States more than half of fast-food workers rely on some form of public assistance to get by, meaning that American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anu-partanen/for-in-the-united-states-more-than-half-of-fast-food-workers-rely-on/) [Anu Partanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anu-partanen/) > [The dirty little secret is that the pool man, who's making $30,000 a year, is subsidizing the million-dollar mortgage for the family whose pool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/the-dirty-little-secret-is-that-the-pool-man-who-s-making-30-000-a/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [“Government could avoid having opinions about so many things if it would quit subsidizing so many things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/government-could-avoid-having-opinions-about-so-many-things-if-it/) [George will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The business of America shouldn't be subsidizing business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/the-business-of-america-shouldn-t-be-subsidizing-business/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [Subsidizing someone's rent is much cheaper than paying for new housing, police or medical responses, or hospital or jail stays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-breed/subsidizing-someone-s-rent-is-much-cheaper-than-paying-for-new/) [London Breed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-breed/) > [We need to quit subsidizing the costs for illegal immigrants' residency in America immediately. How long will we allow them to siphon millions upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/we-need-to-quit-subsidizing-the-costs-for-illegal-immigrants/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [We are subsidizing healthy food instead of subsidizing food that is definitely not healthy for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/we-are-subsidizing-healthy-food-instead-of-subsidizing-food-that-is/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Is there some thought being given to subsidizing the clearing of rainforests in order for some countries to eliminate that production of greenhouse gases?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-rohrabacher/is-there-some-thought-being-given-to-subsidizing-the-clearing-of/) [Dana Rohrabacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-rohrabacher/) > [We are on dangerous terrain when government picks winners and losers in the economy by subsidizing favored products and industries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-koch/we-are-on-dangerous-terrain-when-government-picks-winners-and-losers/) [Charles Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-koch/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More 1930s quotes > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [My grandmother was a minister as well, which was not that common in the 1930s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/my-grandmother-was-a-minister-as-well-which-was-not-that-common-in/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [It reminds me in some ways of the debate taking place in this country and around the world in the late 1930s. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/it-reminds-me-in-some-ways-of-the-debate-taking-place-in-this-country/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [As a result of the efforts of Hayek .. and the many others who share his general outlook, the idea of a centrally planned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-kristol/as-a-result-of-the-efforts-of-hayek-and-the-many-others-who-share-his/) [Irving Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-kristol/) > [When I was in Philadelphia during the Depression in 1930 or '31, I got a very sad job as a night watchman in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-glazer/when-i-was-in-philadelphia-during-the-depression-in-1930-or-31-i-got/) [Tom Glazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-glazer/) > [Working in 3D I didn't experience much of a difference, except that the cameras are very big so they can't be moved around with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frain/working-in-3d-i-didn-t-experience-much-of-a-difference-except-that/) [James Frain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frain/) > [Whatever the reasons may be, I was very much affected by events of the 1930s - the Spanish Civil War, for example, though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/whatever-the-reasons-may-be-i-was-very-much-affected-by-events-of-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We're a little bit low in the 1970s, right, post-Vietnam, Watergate era, malaise, all that, but this is more like the 1930s where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/we-re-a-little-bit-low-in-the-1970s-right-post-vietnam-watergate-era/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [In the immediate postwar era, financial crises in advanced countries were rare events, and before 1970 did not happen at all. Since then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-m-taylor/in-the-immediate-postwar-era-financial-crises-in-advanced-countries/) [Alan M. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-m-taylor/) > [I would not say that Harvard possesses any sort of absolute dominance. And I personally do not take the rankings of schools all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/i-would-not-say-that-harvard-possesses-any-sort-of-absolute-dominance/) [Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/) > [In the 1930s one was aware of two great evils - mass unemployment and the threat of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-meade/in-the-1930s-one-was-aware-of-two-great-evils-mass-unemployment-and/) [James Meade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-meade/) > [When comics came along in the 1930s there was a talent pool waiting. And one reason is so many areas were closed to Jews.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-robinson/when-comics-came-along-in-the-1930s-there-was-a-talent-pool-waiting/) [Jerry Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-robinson/) > [In his 1930 book, Dirac took for granted that measurements could be made, but was very vague about what was actually involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-lamb/in-his-1930-book-dirac-took-for-granted-that-measurements-could-be/) [Willis Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-lamb/) > [Under the gold standard America had no major financial panics other than in 1873, 1884, 1890, 1893, 1907, 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1933.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/under-the-gold-standard-america-had-no-major-financial-panics-other/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [The crucial role communists played in organizing industrial unions in the 1930s and struggling for social reforms, peace, and civil rights strengthened rather then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/the-crucial-role-communists-played-in-organizing-industrial-unions-in/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) [Browse all 255 1930s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1930s-382/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The government is now in a position to do what Franklin D. 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