The David Lin Report This Is How The Next Great Depression Starts Warns Economist | George Selgin
Apr 24, 2026
George Selgin, economist and author known for work on monetary history and free banking. He unpacks causes of the Great Depression and why a 1930s-style collapse is unlikely today. He links policy uncertainty, tariffs, and oil shocks to weak investment and hiring. He weighs monetary fixes against real production needs and debates the dollar, gold, and a U.S. Bitcoin reserve.
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New Deal And War Didn't Fully Explain Recovery
- The New Deal and World War II did not single-handedly end the Depression.
- Selgin argues recovery was driven by gold inflows and later a postwar shift toward pro-investment government-business relations, not just fiscal programs or wartime production.
Postwar Business Confidence Fueled The Boom
- Postwar recovery depended on restored business confidence and private investment.
- Selgin says wartime cooperation between government and business, repeal of the NRA, and reduced regime uncertainty unleashed an investment boom after 1945.
End Regime Uncertainty To Spur Hiring
- Reduce regime uncertainty to unlock hiring and investment.
- Selgin points to tariff wars, policy swings, and active military conflicts as current deterrents to businesses expanding payrolls and investing.
