I think you’ve nailed it. If you ask the folks living on the coasts and in the ~10% areas…they are going to say it’s a success.
I think most people disagree….It is played out in our politics
Democrats have left moderate voters behind
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I think most people disagree….It is played out in our politics
The question before us is whether the government programs designed to eliminate poverty have failed because poverty continues, or does the mere fact poverty continues, and in fact may be growing, proves the programs are necessary.
Some of us think the very existence of government programs only makes people who otherwise would be self sufficient dependent on these programs.
Others accept some people may choose to game the welfare system, but point to situations such as those with disabilities and temporary setbacks who need help. Furthermore as a charitable country with great wealth we can afford to assist people in need.
Radical idea: government welfare is simply the process by which the American capitalist class externalizes the most deleterious effects of unrestrained market economics. We have food stamps and Medicaid so that Google and Amazon and the like can continue to hoard wealth, without the fear of pitchforks and guillotines.
Socialist Michael Harrington in explaining why socialism never gained ground in America called attention to what he called the "capitalist welfare state programs".
Government programs supported by the capitalists to take the sharp edges off the capitalist system to prevent socialism from gaining popularity.
It can be srgued during the Cold War both Dems and Pubs voted for increases in programs such as Social Security to prove to the world that democratic capitalism could provide for its people better than communism.
It mainly started with FDR. And he was facing a time when socialism really was a thing in the US.
The Great Transfer-mation - Economic Innovation Group
Explore your community’s reliance on government transfers through EIG’s Great Transfer-mation Project.
eig.org
What happens to a community whose economy does not produce anything that the world wants?
Link is to updated county by county view
The Great Transfer-mation - Economic Innovation Group
Explore your community’s reliance on government transfers through EIG’s Great Transfer-mation Project.
What happens to a community whose economy does not produce anything that the world wants?
Link is to updated county by county view
Brad, socialist fans of Eugene Debs who probably peaked out with his 1912 presidential campaign may not agree that socialism reached its peak in the New Deal era of the 1930s.
In fact Harrington"s notion about the New Deal programs being the death knell for the socialist party may have merit.
So the New Deal rather than taking the country down the path of socialism (as my parents believed) may have eliminated the socialist party.
Then again, many would argue who needs a socialist party when there is the Democrat party.
The aging population including all those Baby Boomers (largest generational group in history) who are retired or retiring with Social Security and Medicare transfers has to be factor in all this.
The Boomers lived in a period of prosperity so would expect their Social Security income to be surprisingly high. In addition the cost of health care for the oldsters these days has to make Medicare payments going to communities staggering.
Almost forgot Medicaid which many oldsters transition to in order to cover the astronomical costs of nursing homes.
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hoot, I was referring to when a majority of the welfare state came into being. There were socialist movements from the late 19th Century on in the USA. FDR's moves were criticized as socialist/communist programs at the time. But one could certainly imagine a USA without FDR's programs that continued to face high % of unemployed and poor that rioted more, and maybe saw strong, radical parties and organizations form. I don't think it's radical to opine that FDR's programs staved off that possibility.
How FDR Saved Capitalism
During the economic crisis of the 1930s, many expected a socialist revolution. The revolution never came. Why? The man in the White House co-opted the left. By Hoover fellow Seymour Martin Lipset and Gary Marks.
“By squeezing nickels and dimes, the Baileys made limited resources and labor go further, producing ‘dozens of the prettiest little homes you ever saw, 90% owned by suckers who used to pay rent’ to old Potter.”
“What the Baileys’ penny pinching accomplished in moving Bedford Falls families out of Mr. Potter’s slums has been achieved by real-life Baileys throughout our nation’s history. Those who were able to save pennies enriched all mankind.”
Does Gramm get it right? Is he seeing something that wasn’t there in the movie and trying to apply to real-life?
BTW…a great movie.
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“It has sometimes been remarked that asking five economists a question will generate 10 different answers.”
“Welcoming China into the global economic system….there has been only one answer.”
JDB, great question.
Just even starting to think about this question is wearing me down.
Instead JDB, here is wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
