FDR on Welfare

CuteOldGuy's Avatar
"Continued dependence upon [government] relief induces a spiritual disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole our relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of a sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America...The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief."

-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1935
Dawgs's Avatar
  • Dawgs
  • 08-24-2012, 08:05 AM
Makes perfect sense to me. It used to be if you needed help you didn't run to the government.
CuteOldGuy's Avatar
joe bloe's Avatar
FDR, warning about the dangers of social welfare; amazing. It's like a pusher warning his clients that heroin is addictive. FDR is the father of the social welfare state. The New Deal was the beginning of the end of this country.

It's bizarre that some of FDR's beliefs from the 30's and 40's seem extremely conservative by today's standards. He was strongly against unionized government workers. He spoke openly of God and prayed publicly for his guideance and blessing. Imagine Romney advocating an end to public service unions; he wouldn't dare.
The New Deal including Social Security were supposed to have been temporary measures to get us though the Depression. But once you start hands outs, you can never go back to the way it usta was.