The United States is shouldering a greater debt burden today than it
did during the Great Depression.

This seems a no-brainer. Everyone didn't have their hands out in the 1930's,
more people lived on farms, Johnson's Great Society was a socialist dream, etc.

The U.S. military was very small with as yet no global pretentions.

Seems like the nation was still on the Gold Standard, we couldn't just print
more money whenever we felt like it.

James Manchester (I think it was) relates a story of when Army Chief of Staff
Macarthur was called in to see President Roosevelt in 1933.

Roosevelt wanted Macarthur's rubber stamp on a plan to reduce the regular Army
officer corps from 12,000 to 10,000. IIRC, the military budget was @
$300,000,000.

"You may write such a budget, Mr. President. But I shall not administer it,"
Mac said.

Now, Roosevelt's mother lived in the White House to make sure her boy came to
no harm. FDR never - ever-- heard the word "no," from childhood.

So he and Macarthur had this tremendous row. FDR backed down. This, in my
view, was the best service Mac ever performed for the country.

After the meeting, Mac went out and threw up on the White House steps.

Nowadays, we just spend $500,000,000,000 -in a year- that we don't have, and no
one turns a hair.

Walt