The Welfare state was a creation of Lyndon Baines Johnson. FDR created a WORKfare state. Both of them are socialistic, but LBJ's socialism created a welfare class with no work ethic. FDR required all able bodied men to work or starve.
The Unions have opposed any type of work fare as it creates a low wage alternative to their high paid union jobs, especially on infrastructure projects.
FDR was probably the best wartime president we have had. He was able to mobilize the entire country in the war effort. If Bush had done the same thing after 9/11 there would be no terrorists threatening us today. But Bush told every American to just go about their business and pretend that we aren't at war. As a result we are still spinning our wheels in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I would hope that Gingrich has learned from history that if you are going to get involved in a war, that you had better not only enlist the support of the American people, but also enlist their HELP.
BS. FDR's Ponzi scheme, SS, allowed people to get far more out of the program than they ever put in. And FDR with his Freedom from Want provided the predicate for the welfare state. His various Big Government programs gave more and more power to the federal government.
The Wagner Act to promote labor unions, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief program, the Social Security Act, and new programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers. The final major items of New Deal legislation were the creation of the United States Housing Authority and Farm Security Administration, both in 1937, then the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which set maximum hours and minimum wages for most categories of workers and the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938.
Several New Deal programs remain active, with some still operating under the original names, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The largest programs still in existence today are the Social Security System and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Originally FDR wanted to include health insurance in the SS bill, but decided not to because it might jeopardize passage. The Wagner Bill evolved and shifted from a proposal for federal grants-in- aid to a proposal for national health insurance. First introduced in 1943, it became the very famous Wagner-Murray- Dingell Bill. The bill called for compulsory national health insurance and a payroll tax. Although the Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill generated extensive national debates, with the intensified opposition, the bill never passed by Congress despite its reintroduction every session for 14 years! Had it passed, the Act would have established compulsory national health insurance funded by payroll taxes.
LBJ just built on the FDR legacy with his New Society. He was bent on accomplishing the FDR agenda. LBJ was able to get things like Medicare and Medicaid passed due to his overwhelming majority in Congress and Rep complicity. Both Medicare and Medicaid were seen as just the first step towards an eventual single payer system. Between Medicare and Medicaid, the government is covering about 50% of the national health care expenditures. Obamacare covers the rest. And as Obama has said himself, Obamacare is just the first step towards a single payer universal care system Although Teddy Roosevelt favored a health insurance scheme, it was under FDR that this all took root.
FDR was probably the best wartime president we have had. He was able to mobilize the entire country in the war effort. If Bush had done the same thing after 9/11 there would be no terrorists threatening us today. But Bush told every American to just go about their business and pretend that we aren't at war. As a result we are still spinning our wheels in Iraq and Afghanistan.
LOL. To compare our effort in WWII when we had 16 million under arms with a total population of 132 million with the the small "wars" in Afghanistan and Iraq is laughable. Our actual national survival was at stake in WWII. Hell, Korea and Vietnam make Afghanistan and Iraq pale in comparison.
I would hope that Gingrich has learned from history that if you are going to get involved in a war, that you had better not only enlist the support of the American people, but also enlist their HELP.
HELP? Give me a break. We have a volunteer military today. It is relatively small given our population of 311 million. Do you want to institute the Draft?