God Is Not a Socialist or a Liberal!

Movieguide® ^ | April 27, 2007 | Dr. Tom Snyder

[lucysmom]

I am aware of the meaning of welfare as written in the Constitution.

In magnitude, the crisis created by the great depression ranks number 2 behind the Civil War. It looked to farmers who lost their livelihood and homes and to the masses of unemployed like capitalism was a failure. There was looting, homelessness, riots, strikes, and a high interest in alternatives to our system of government, namely, Communism.

Shanty towns called Hoovervilles, after the president that basically did nothing aside from promise that prosperity was just around the corner, sprung up around the country (one in Oklahoma is said to have stretched for 10 miles). The old means of dispensing "charity" were overwhelmed.

They used to tell me I was building a dream
And so I followed the mob.
When there was earth to plow or guns to bear,
I was always there, right on the job.
They used to tell me I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead --
Why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?

Once in khaki suits, gee, we looked swell
Full of that Yankee Doodle-de-dum.
Half a million boots went slogging through hell,
And I was the kid with the drum.

Say, don't you remember they called me Al,
It was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal --
Say, buddy, can you spare a dime?

Summed up in the song, Brother, Can You Spare a Dime is the confusion, and frustration of men who had been hard working and productive, who had served our country and found themselves out of work, out of luck, reduced to begging.

Now, I suppose you can argue that a more Constitutional approach to insuring the general welfare, would be the use of police and military force to restore order, and indeed, that was done on more than one occasion; or, as FDR did, push through legislation to restore order by restoring hope.

Was an economic crisis of this magnitude foreseen by the founding fathers? How would they have responded had it occurred on their watch? IMHO, they would have debated, and acted to preserve our Republic and capitalism to the best of their abilities with respect for their fellow citizens.

[AndyTheBear]

I'm not an historian. But I have read historians who have studied the era and concluded that the reforms FDR passed only made the depression last longer. Frankly I'm not sure which account is more correct.

My opinions of how well federal charity works is shaped by more current manifestations.

Allowing (for the sake of argument) that it might be reasonable to have an emergency type of federal charity initiative like the one ostensibly needed in the great depression, then it certainly should have been phased out afterward.