When E.C. Harwood formed the American Institute for Economic Research 90 years ago, the New Deal was just beginning. The Great Depression, though, was over three years old, and it was a hangry, troublesome toddler.
For those with a job, or on a fixed income, the Depression was great, because prices sank a great deal. Unlike today, real wages, or in other words wages adjusted for the declining price level, remained high for many.