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2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Hillarity says she won't release her transcripts... [View all]MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)38. I'm quoting the first few pages from one of his most comprehensive speeches at Georgetown Univ...
In his inaugural remarks in January 1937, in the midst of the Great Depression, President Frankline Delano Roosevelt looked out at the nation and this is what he saw.
He saw tens of millions of its citizens denied the basic necessities of life.
He saw millions of families trying live on incomes so meager that the pall of family disaster hung over them day by day.
He saw millions denied education, recreation, and the opportunity to better their lot and then to of their children.
He saw millions lacking the means to buy the products they needed and by their poverty and lack of disposable income denying employment to many other millions.
He saw one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.
"Almost everything [FDR] proposed was called 'socialist'"
And he acted. Against the ferocious opposition of the ruling class of his day, people he called economic royalists, Roosevelt implemented a series of programs that put millions of people back to work, took them out of poverty and restored their faith in government. He redefined the relationship of the federal government to the people of our country. He combatted cynicism, fear and despair. He reinvigorated democracy. He transformed the country.
And that is what we have to do today.
And, by the way, almost everything he proposed was called "socialist". The concept of the "minimum wage" was seen as a radical intrusion into the marketplace and was described as "socialist." Unemployment insurance, abolishing child labor, the 40-hour work week, collective bargaining, strong banking regulations, deposit insurance, and job programs that put millions of people to work were all described in one way or another, as "socialist." Yet, these programs have become the fabric of our nation and the foundation of the middle class.
Thirty years later, in the 1960s, President Johnson passed Medicare and Medicaid to provide health care to millions of senior citizens and families with children, persons with disabilities and some of the most vulnerable people in this country. Once again these vitally important programs were derided by the right wing as socialist programs that were a threat to our American way of life.
That was then. Now is now.
Today, in 2015, despite the Wall Street crash of 2008, which drove this country into the worst economic downturn since the Depression, the American people are clearly better off economically than we were in 1037.
But, here is a very hard truth that we must acknowledge and address. Despite a huge increase in technology and productivity, despite major growth in the U.S. and global economy, tens of millions of American families continue to lack the basic necessities of life, while millions more struggle every day to provide a minimal standard of living for their families. The reality is that of the last 40 years the great middle class of this country has been in decline and faith in our political system is now extremely low.
The rich get much richer. Almost everyone else gets poorer. Super PACs funded by billionaires buy elections. Ordinary people don't vote. We have an economic and political crisis in the country and the same old, same old establishment politics and economics will not effectively address it. If we are serious about transforming our country, if we are serious about rebuilding the middle class, if we are serious about reinvigorating our democracy, we need to develop a political movement which, once agin, is prepared to take on and defeat a ruling class whose greed is destroying our nation. The billionaire class cannot have it all. Our government belongs to all of us, and not just the one percent.
He saw tens of millions of its citizens denied the basic necessities of life.
He saw millions of families trying live on incomes so meager that the pall of family disaster hung over them day by day.
He saw millions denied education, recreation, and the opportunity to better their lot and then to of their children.
He saw millions lacking the means to buy the products they needed and by their poverty and lack of disposable income denying employment to many other millions.
He saw one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.
"Almost everything [FDR] proposed was called 'socialist'"
And he acted. Against the ferocious opposition of the ruling class of his day, people he called economic royalists, Roosevelt implemented a series of programs that put millions of people back to work, took them out of poverty and restored their faith in government. He redefined the relationship of the federal government to the people of our country. He combatted cynicism, fear and despair. He reinvigorated democracy. He transformed the country.
And that is what we have to do today.
And, by the way, almost everything he proposed was called "socialist". The concept of the "minimum wage" was seen as a radical intrusion into the marketplace and was described as "socialist." Unemployment insurance, abolishing child labor, the 40-hour work week, collective bargaining, strong banking regulations, deposit insurance, and job programs that put millions of people to work were all described in one way or another, as "socialist." Yet, these programs have become the fabric of our nation and the foundation of the middle class.
Thirty years later, in the 1960s, President Johnson passed Medicare and Medicaid to provide health care to millions of senior citizens and families with children, persons with disabilities and some of the most vulnerable people in this country. Once again these vitally important programs were derided by the right wing as socialist programs that were a threat to our American way of life.
That was then. Now is now.
Today, in 2015, despite the Wall Street crash of 2008, which drove this country into the worst economic downturn since the Depression, the American people are clearly better off economically than we were in 1037.
But, here is a very hard truth that we must acknowledge and address. Despite a huge increase in technology and productivity, despite major growth in the U.S. and global economy, tens of millions of American families continue to lack the basic necessities of life, while millions more struggle every day to provide a minimal standard of living for their families. The reality is that of the last 40 years the great middle class of this country has been in decline and faith in our political system is now extremely low.
The rich get much richer. Almost everyone else gets poorer. Super PACs funded by billionaires buy elections. Ordinary people don't vote. We have an economic and political crisis in the country and the same old, same old establishment politics and economics will not effectively address it. If we are serious about transforming our country, if we are serious about rebuilding the middle class, if we are serious about reinvigorating our democracy, we need to develop a political movement which, once agin, is prepared to take on and defeat a ruling class whose greed is destroying our nation. The billionaire class cannot have it all. Our government belongs to all of us, and not just the one percent.
My fingers are getting tired. Google the rest, if you haven't heard it all. It's one of the most comprehensive statements and it's been out there. Speaking TRUTH TO POWER is like that. Yeah, it is...
MMM
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probably exactly as bad as we imagine,but it won't go away until she releases it,and she won't
virtualobserver
Feb 2016
#57
Of course the speculation is worse. Have you been to any of these corporate event things?
DanTex
Feb 2016
#82
So why do they pay her $250,000 for a boring speech no one listens to?
Bread and Circus
Feb 2016
#95
No, it will not go away, imo..the speeches are not likely going to be riddled with
Jefferson23
Feb 2016
#83
She's Asking The Voters For Their Vote - Don't You Think That The Voters Have A Right To Know If....
global1
Feb 2016
#47
Yes, Hillary certainly seems to have crossed the Rubicon. Of course, you realize the inappropriate
xocet
Feb 2016
#148
Your reference is to Shakespeare's Richard III; specifically, to the dialog right before Richard III
xocet
Feb 2016
#180
I'm quoting the first few pages from one of his most comprehensive speeches at Georgetown Univ...
MrMickeysMom
Feb 2016
#38
Stop with the immature Republican-style naming of things. Bernie would not approve.
ancianita
Feb 2016
#27
I'm referring to YOU calling HER "Hillarity." We can knock off the Repub-style cheap shots
ancianita
Feb 2016
#42
Naw, you need to show some respect toward your party's campaign style if you
ancianita
Feb 2016
#111
COVER UP! If you have nothing to hide, release them. She obviously said things that corroborates
in_cog_ni_to
Feb 2016
#28
Then she just shot herself in the foot. Repetitive lies make one a liar.
californiabernin
Feb 2016
#34
Having got their opponent to dig in her heels it's now time for people stalking the story
HereSince1628
Feb 2016
#39
On CNN this morning she was setting the record straight on what Elizabeth Warren
bkkyosemite
Feb 2016
#40
Seriously, why doesn't someone put up a wanted ad and ask for a bootleg copy of the speech?
Baitball Blogger
Feb 2016
#46
As soon as Bernie releases his Goldman Sachs speach transcripts then Hillary will, Oh, wait
litlbilly
Feb 2016
#52
Who is everybody else? Bernie is the only one running in the primary with her.
Jefferson23
Feb 2016
#81
Hillary Told George Stephanopoulos She Will Release Transcripts on One Small Condition
gordyfl
Feb 2016
#91
That's it right there. People will ask "They paid you how much for this crap?"
backscatter712
Feb 2016
#107
Yep, wink wink transactions. Why would any politician allow themselves to be
Jefferson23
Feb 2016
#115
Clinton is on Face the Nation going out on a limb trying to slam Sanders all the while
Jefferson23
Feb 2016
#101
Hillary declines to provide information vital to assessing her relationship with Wall Street
whatchamacallit
Feb 2016
#104
In other words: she really is a Wall Street shill. Thanks for the notice. eom
Betty Karlson
Feb 2016
#119
I hope you will reconsider using "Hillarity". No matter what you think about Hillary, we should be
cui bono
Feb 2016
#169
Try rereading my earlier reply, and if somebody is going to make their opinion
R. Daneel Olivaw
Feb 2016
#179
She's a crippled candidate with the email thing and Goldman speech hanging over her head
LittleBlue
Feb 2016
#176
Why is it that Hillary must release the transcripts but it's okay if all the other candidates don't?
kstewart33
Feb 2016
#181