Will Rogers commented on our current financial system 80 years ago (like today, nobody listened)

In Honor of Will Rogers

Your Presence is Sorely Missed Mr. Rogers

(November 4, 1879 to August 15, 1935)
Grandpa has no comments, Mr. Rogers says it all...

One Unbelievably Insightful Comment (1923)

"Borrowing money on what's called "easy terms," is a one-way ticket to the Poor House. If you think it ain't a Sucker Game, why is your Banker the richest man in your town? Why is your Bank the biggest and finest building in your town? Instead of passing Bills to make borrowing easy, if Congress had passed a Bill that no Person could borrow a cent of Money from any other person, they would have gone down in History as committing the greatest bit of Legislation in the World." WA #14, March 18, 1923

Financial "Crisis"

"Bankers are likeable rascals. Now that we are wise to 'em, it's been shown that they don't know any more about finances than the rest of us know about businesses, which has proven to be nothing." DT #1924, Oct. 4, 1932

"If a bank fails in China, they behead the men at the top of it that was responsible...If we beheaded all of ours that were responsible for bank failures, we wouldn't have enough people left to bury the heads." Feb. 6, 1927

"It looks like the financial giants of the world have bungled as much as the diplomats and politicians. This would be a great time in the world for some man to come along that knew something." DT #1611, Sept. 21, 1931

Bailout

"The whole financial structure of Wall Street seems to have fallen on the mere fact that the Federal Reserve raised the amount of interest from 5 to 6 percent. Any business that can't survive a 1 percent raise must be skating on mighty thin ice...But let Wall Street have a nightmare and the whole country has to help them back in bed again." DT #950, Aug. 12, 1929

"But we can't alibi all our ills by just knocking the old banker. First he loaned the money, then the people all at once wanted it back, and he didn't have it. Now he's got it again, and is afraid to loan it, so the poor devil don't know what to do." DT #1833, June 8, 1932

"See where Congress passed a two Billion dollar bill to relieve bankers' mistakes. You can always count on us helping those who have lost part of their fortune, but our whole history records nary a case where the loan was for the man who had absolutely nothing." DT #1715, Jan. 22, 1932

Financial Reform

"Wall Street is being investigated, but they are not asleep while it's being done. You see where the Senate took that tax off the sales of stocks, didn't you? Saved 'em $48,000,000. Now, why don't somebody investigate the Senate and see who got to them to get the tax removed? That would be a real investigation." DT #1803, May 4, 1932

"I am not against (bull fighting). Every nation has their own affairs and own sports. Some nations like to see blood, and some like to see their victims suffer from speculation. It's all in your point of view. They kill the bull very quick. Wall Street lets you live and suffer." DT #1646, Nov. 1, 1931

Stimulus Package, Bush Tax Cuts and QE-1/QE-2

"Why don't somebody print the truth about our present economic situation? We spent six years of wild buying on credit-everything under the sun, whether we needed it or not-an now we are having to pay for 'em, and we are howling like a pet coon.

"It wasn't what we needed then that was hurting us, it was what we was paying for that we had already used up. The country was just buying gasoline for a leaky tank. Everything was going into the gopher hole and you couldn't see where you was going to get it back."

"America already holds the record for freak movements. Now we have a new one. It's called "Restoring Confidence." Rich men who never had a mission in life outside of watching a stock ticker are working day and night "restoring confidence." Writers are working night shifts, speakers' tables are littered up, ministers are preaching statistics all on "restoring confidence."

(Note: WA means Weekly Article; DT means Daily Telegram)



Other Words of Wisdon from Will Rogers
Will Rogers Museum