Snapping the purse strings shut is viewed as a direct cause of the duration of the Great Depression Mike, this is 100% incorrect. The Great Depression was caused by government manipulation of the money supply, and then exacerbated by attempts to "spend the country's way" out of the depression.
I'm going to be blunt - I don't consider you functionally literate on this subject. If you really want to understand the history, read the works of Benjamin Anderson - an economist who was harshly criticized at the time for speaking out against policies during the 1920's and 1930's, but is now viewed in retrospect as being far more aware than others of the devasting impact of FDR's policies.
http://mises.org/about/3226http://www.amazon.com/ECONOMICS-PUBLIC-WELFARE-BENJAMIN-ANDERSON/dp/091396669XThese 'stimulus packages' from Obama only serve to do one thing: slow capital growth.