Heckler and Koch!

If nothing else, land is cheaper right now right? 

Yeah... I mean you always need land.   I gotta figure there is something safe in a depression but for the life of me i can't figure what.

 First off Wage inflation would not be a concern in a depression, a depression is a period of a debt-deflationary cycle, wage inflation would actually be a net positive, because at most it would result in an inflationary push, and in fact evidence has shown little effect on price inflation due to wage inflation, in fact by inflating wages and having little or no increase in prices, you are increasing disposable income, a very very good thing in a downturn, when aggregate demand is depressed.

Now the issue with Antitrust legislation isn't that big of a concern, because the issue with trusts cartels and monopolies, is they effect supply side of the equation,  but a Depression isn't a supply side issue, its a demand issue, demand is down across the board in a depression, partly due to fear, partly due to the fact that people just don't have the disposable income, and partly because people see prices falling, so they put off consuming until prices go lower.  So while letting industries tkae advantage of such a thing in a period of normal economic activity may be very detrimental, a depression is demand driven not supply driven.

By inflating wages you lower how many people buisness can hire leading to unemployement.

Or at least i assume that's his arguement with wage inflation.

interestingly, during the period between 1933 and 35, unemployment dropped

Try gold, along with other precious metals. At the rate the fed and other governments are printing money, its value is sure to increase year over year. Commodities and natural reasources (oil)  would also be a smart move at this point.

You may want to look into the advice of Marc Faber and Nouriel Roubini. They basically predicited what we are currently going through with startling accuracy.

But as always you should diversify. Don't put all you're eggs in one basket, like land.

Oh, and no one has mentioned the other, non-economic effects of the new deal.

When FDR came into office the public, as well as investors, we're basically frozen. No one knew what to do, or was willing to invest in a volatile market. What the new deal did, however, was to restore faith in the market and guarantee that you wouldn't lose you're shirt because other people fucked up. Essentially it made people feel safe, and then investing could start once more.

In the words of David Kennedy, an excellent historian on this era, FDR wanted to create a unique, relatively riskless form of distinctly American capitalism.

Not to mention the fact that the housing and lending reforms of the new deal paved the way for the post-war boom, especially the rise of the suburbs.

In a depression the safest investment is porn and booze. Go out and buy lots of porn and booze. Safest damn thing you can do.

Wage inflation would certainly be a concern, and it would not be a net positive. Kasz is correct in saying that inflating wages leads to higher unemployment. It is simple supply and demand. Also, it is as equally if not more important to prosecute anti-competetive behavior during an economic downturn as it is during a period of normal economic activity. If demand is the problem, how does artificially increasing prices not affect demand? To make matters worse, the artificial wage increases were coupled with anti-competitive behavior. Yes, unemployment rates may have decreased, but that should not be unexpected for two reasons: the increase in government spending to fund recovery programs such as the CCC would decrease unemployment; Americans worked markedly less hours than they did before the Depression. Had the US not allowed anti-competitive behavior and artificially inflated wages, the recovery would have been decidedly quicker. 

This paper by UCLA economists Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian will better explain what I am communicating. I read this paper in one of my economics classes approximately 18-24 months ago.