Abstract
Critical analysis of Jim Powell's Roosevelt's folly. Refute Powell thesis and defend the New Deal. This paper aimed at demonstrating that, instead, the New Deal did not only help tens of millions of Americans to overcome the Depression but also made tremendous structural reforms that had ?surely played a role in determining the degree and the duration of postwar prosperity?. Jim Powell's thesis is that Roosevelt's interventions in these sectors were counter-productive, weakening the banking system, especially the strong big banks, and increasing the cost of issuing securities what prevented small business from developing and creating jobs.
