I see it more as FDR advocating big government works programs to employee people, not unlike what the Nazis were doing at the time. And back then people did envy what Hitler was doing.
Forgot to mention: The context of the Star Wars quote was Palpatine (then chancellor of the Old Republic, before he turns it into the Empire) responding to the Galactic Senate voting him emergency powers to allow him to create an army of clones by executive fiat.