It's More or Less Official: We're In a Global Depression

The pending question: Are we capable of learning anything from Great Depression Era economic policy blunders?

Chirpy blog entry on Saturday from "George Washington's Blog," one of our very favorites. Here's the lede:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the organization that audits the books of countries world-wide to determine their real financial health. The IMF is also responsible for bailing out countries in trouble, and stabilizing the world's economic systems.
The IMF has also performed a complete audit of the whole US financial system, and therefore has a clearer idea of American finances than just about any other organization.
So the fact that the head of the IMF is saying that the world's advanced economies are already in a depression carries great weight.

And here's the full writeup, which is filled with eye-opening links:

• It's More or Less Official: We're In a Global Depression

As an added bonus, we present an instructive article submitted by one of our gentle readers over the weekend, which picks up on the same topic, and then draws some interesting historical comparisons between current economic events and government actions, and those of the 1930's. Among other things, the author, Mr. Scaliger, warns of the peril of aggressive and excessive government-interventionist policies... (and the unrestrained fiat currency printing press):

• Parallels With the Great Depression

Food for thought, we think, as the congress and current presidential administration move forward at breakneck speed, to launch the next volley of multi-hundred-billion dollar financial industry bailouts, (with boatloads of other highly-dubious "economic stimuli" (pork) thrown in to boot.)

Brings to mind, we think, that old George Santayana ax, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Reader comments are invited, as always.