New Deal and anti-new-deal - class 2-13-2005

2 views – US goes from B (gilded age) to A (progressive TR and Wilson) to B (Harding to Coolidge) to A (New Deal) and back to B (Reagan and Bush43)

A - all men = Christian and Muslim Progressive economics – value the workers and the poor, “progressive” taxes, positive freedom. Foreign affairs – treat the people in other countries as if they are =, respect international law, progressive internationalism

B – social Darwinist – trickle down economics – unrestrained pursuit of wealth -regressive taxation – value the rich – Nationalist -other countries are judged by whether they are “with us or against us” – Cold War (Dems are soft on Commies, who lost China) or anti-terror (Bin Laden loves Kerry) absolutism – human rights very secondary in the battle of “good vs evil” “Destroy a village to save it” (from communism)

2-14-2005 – New Deal and Anti-New Deal

Hoover – distinguished public servant – relief efforts – mining engineer great mind – took advice from SD Mellon – richest guy – he must know $?

The 'leave-it-alone liquidationists' headed by Secretary of the Treasury Mellon felt that government must keep its hands off and let the slump liquidate itself. Mr. Mellon had only one formula: 'Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate the farmers, liquidate real estate'.He held that even panic was not altogether a bad thing. He said: 'It will purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living will come down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up the wrecks from less competent people'

FIRST WORD FDR? PRAGMATIST

ARGUING ADVISORS – many POV’s try anything experiment with this and that

Take practical action now did it work? Do it again. If not try that.

End of Hoover – wealth concentrated as in Gilded age – top 1% own 50% - bottom 80% own bupkus - 6%? Top 1/10 of 1% earned as much bottom 42%

By 1932 – overproduction – productive capacity up 60% in 10 yrs – purchasing power of masses falling – impossible for society to absorb - prices fall by ½ - 25% unemployed – 1/3 ill-houses, ill-clothed, ill-fed

Bring workers up –create a consumer’s demand!

Hoovervilles all over

New Deal coalition – Dems go from “states rights localism” to a messy coalition – farmers, industrial workers, reform-minded urban middle-class, liberal intellectuals and White supremacist South (oops) all committed to govt intervention to rescue economy provide social-economic security esp for poor and old.

Individualism debunked – community valued “Laissez Faire is Dead” (Lippman)

Bonus army – McArthur (Ike aide) exceeds Hoover’s orders – razes camp – drives out starving veterans who want their bonus now – not in 1945 – “we’ll be dead”

Bonus marchers come back under FDR – have tea in White House – have a job – we have work to do in Zion, you need a job, your family needs food - Why Not?

Christ (and Mohammed) made a big distinction between income earned by work and unearned income – “reaping what you did not sew” was Usury – hell bound – if you kept too much of your wealth you had as much of a chance of going to heaven as a camel had of going thru the eye of a needle – Hell here you come

The New Deal tax policy strongly moved in this direction

FDR saw the entrenched economic inequality and dominant political power (Christ mentioned in Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18 and THOUSANDS of other places) the NewDeal’s enemy

Grover Norquist – along with Karl Rove / Cheney Bush43 brain trust – want to repeal New Deal – Rove explicitly back to McKinley –

Reagan Bush43 Morality = SEX, NOT social justice – Zippergate

First debate 2000 “42% tax cuts go to top 1%” “Fuzzy math” How? “D’oh”

40% second round tax cuts top 1/10 of 1%

child tax credit for everyone from $300,000 down but not for those under approx $12,000 “that would be welfare” House debate

“Welfare” – what % to rich (exemptions, tax credits, etc) what % to poor

we will cover “Perfectly Legal” in later class – does anyone need a book for second paper?

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Social cohesion in US—believing that it takes a village to raise a child—and believing that we all should care for our village’s poor children—requires tolerance of diversity—“multi-culturalism”—I’ve drunk this kool aid (Racism is worst and stupidest EVIL – all men created equal) and am prejudiced as are most “globalists” – this is a mixed blessing pragmatically – I mentioned shutting off Jewish immigration which I decried for it’s effects in Middle East (NO ISRAEL – Jews leaving Palestine for US faster than going into Palestine until we cut off immigration) but social solidarity in US is harmed by massive immigration – we are less likely to want to raise different colored kids, kids of “lazy parasites”(Hoover) “Welfare cadillacs”(Reagan) Willie Horton’s spawn (mistaken belief Blacks most of welfare)