A panel of speakers compared President Obama to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a forum Thursday at NMSU, focusing specifically on the new stimulus plan and relating it to Roosevelt's historical New Deal.
The panel, consisting of NMSU history, government and economics departments, discussed comparisons and differences between FDR and Obama, such as the focus on national parks and the stock market.
"It is important to discuss these issues now because the current economic crisis is very severe," said Jim Peach, professor in the economics and international business department. "'Crisis' is not the wrong word. The world financial system is in chaos. Jobs are being lost in nearly every major industry in almost all nations. There is hardly anyone, anywhere, who has not or will not be affected by the crisis."
The panel made comparisons on the economic state in 1933 compared to today, as well as social climate, states of war and personal character.
"Both are seen as strong and articulate speakers," Nancy Baker, NMSU government professor and department head, said. "Both focused on the restoration of hope."
NMSU history professor Jamie Bronstein began the discussion with the crash of the stock market issues that led to Oct. 29, 1929, the beginning of the Great Depression.
"Today's economical crisis is now being referred to as The Great Repression," Bronstein said.
The panelists also discussed how the two leaders used "new media" to make a connection to the general public, with FDR's fireside chats on the radio and Obama's blog.
"They both were in difficult political places," Baker said. "Both men had to act quickly but not alienate the other party's followers."
The new $787 billion stimulus plan was greatly compared to FDR's New Deal, which history professor Jon Hunner said was broken into three parts.
"You'll see that Obama's plan is part relief, part recovery, part reform," Hunner said, adding that the relief efforts are "eerily similar" to today's stimulus, particularly in bank relief and lower interest rates under the Home Owners' Loan Act.
"But unlike Hoover, Obama began taking action right away," Hunner continued.
Peach summed up his feelings on the stimulus package in one statement: "It is not big enough."
"Personal savings is up 5 percent," Peach said. "We need the spending. We need the money."
When asked about the debt of the nation, Peach said the comparison of national debt to personal debt is not a fair relation.
"We've been in debt since 1779," Peach said. "People want to compare national debt to the debt of an individual and that is silly."
When stepping away from the comparison between FDR and Obama, Peach added that we can learn a lot from the past.
"FDR taught us how to save our economy," Peach said. "It is still early in Obama's term."
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