FDR

This weekend I watched a long documentary on Franklin D. Roosevelt.  I was struck by how the language and issues were so similar, between the Republicans of the time, and Roosevelt.

For the first time in American history, the Federal Government got directly involved in the economy under Roosevelt.  In a every sense, the foundation of our modern post-industrial capitalism was created by Roosevelt and his experimentation filled New Deal.

For most of American history, charity for the poor was considered an area for private and church donations.  The Great Depression changed that, no amount of charity could deal with 50% unemployment.

People were afraid, they were hungry, and free market capitalism seemed to be totally inadequate to deal with the suffering.

Roosevelt changed all that.  He kick-started the federal government into massive spending programs in an attempt to ease the suffering of millions, and to insure that the boom and bust cycle of capitalism could be regulated.

This, of course, started the great debate we are still in today.  Conservatives, most rich ones, of the thirties literally grew to hate Roosevelt as a "traitor to his class", as the President broadened the New Deal to massively aid the "have nots".

And it worked.  The Depression may not have been cured by the New Deal, but its effects were greatly mitigated.

As it turned out, the Great Depression was a world wide phenomenon, and it took WWII to shake the world out of it; at the cost of over 50 million dead.

The boom and bust cycles of capitalism were greatly tamed by the New Deal.  In the 2000s, George W. Bush, greatly de-regulated Wall Street and the financial markets, and plunged the nation into a financial crisis nearly as bad as the Great Depression.

What we see now, is a massive, I hope last ditch, effort by rich conservatives, to once again roll back New Deal regulations of the economy; in a self interest attempt to fix the game and drive their wealth even higher.

The rich have got richer in the last 30 years, the gap between haves and have-nots has exploded.

Meanwhile, thanks to Fox News and conservative propaganda, many members of the middle class are actually on the rich conservatives side, caught up in a false ideological argument, that actually is a cynical rich man's con to fool them into giving their blind support.

It is almost sickening to listen to them.  They puppet the rich conservative talking points, that have been fed them for hours by Fox and Rush, not aware that NONE of these talking points help them at all.

In a real sense they are like pretend rich men, acting like they are standing for economic liberty, while the rich continues to push them farther down into poverty.

It has got so bad, that many members of the middle class, are actually falling in line with attacks on Medicare and Social Security, when most of them are, or will be, dependent for their future health and welfare on those New Deal (and Great Society) programs.

In short, they decry the very programs that will keep them well as seniors, and pay their bills.

FDR changed the nation forever, and forever the rich have hated him.  Today, the visceral hatred of President Obama is reminiscent of that same loathing.

The amazing thing, is the wealth, especially the super rich, have benefitted massively under the New Deal (that saved their capitalistic and unfair system).  The rich are richer today than ever before compared to everyone else.

So, today the battle is between the New Deal, that succeeded, and everyday provides security and assistance to millions, and the rich, who literally want it all;  and the 47% , as Romney famously said, do not matter.

The debate cannot be lost this time around, just as it could not be lost the last time.  The future of this country depends on it.