Taking one side over the other is quite a difficult task, especially when the problem is so complex as the entire economic stability of a country, or that of more countries. And the same conundrum is obvious today, as specific economic sectors (automobile or banking) and specific countries (Greece) face the risks of demise. What should a good leader do? What should have a good leader done?
A responsible leader would have selected the difficult road to recovery; the road which allowed the economy to revive by itself and to realize and correct its mistakes by itself. The measures would have been unpopular as the population would come to feel the repercussions of their extended and unsubstantiated expenses. Still, this approach would have allowed the population and the economic agents to recognize their mistakes and refrain from making them in the future as well. Still, a question is raised...
In this scenario, the agents in the economy would not have learned their lesson, but would have been assured that the government is there to save them. And they did not learn this lesson, as proved by the current economic crisis. In such a context then, the preferred set of actions is that implemented by Herbert Hoover.
