Letter: A depression is what we must avoid

Our economic problems are not based on the ideas of either political party.

We are in a recession because we hire foreign companies to produce things we buy, as well as many components that appear to come from American companies.

Look back at World War II. We came out of a depression by making weapons for our allies and ourselves. At the end of the war, we prospered by making things for our citizens in our own factories.

What would the unemployment numbers be if our soldiers and their supporting staff, along with those making war goods, all lost their jobs as a result of ending our intrusion into Muslim countries?

Unlike the post-World War II period, we wouldn’t make all the products that citizens will want.

I worry about a depression — not a recession. Giving more money to American companies wouldn’t solve the problem because this money would go to further the power of their foreign factories. Our government could place restrictions on handing out more money but this could create an international crisis.

As a World War II veteran, I remember conditions before and after the war.

Neither liberals nor conservatives appear to remember the economic situation that prevailed at that time.

John L. Stewart

Vancouver