December 19, 2018
Dear Friends and Family,
This is the introduction to segment 7 titled “The Creep of Socialism in the United States,” which is a summation of the follow-on excerpts. The beginnings of Socialism in the U.S. run parallel with the centralization of control under the Federal Government. It commenced in 1901 when Theodore Roosevelt smothered states’ rights by imposing federal laws for child labor, restricted works hours for women, and imposed a national eight-hour workday. It continued with the ratification of the 16th amendment permanently legalizing a federal income tax. Centralized control was greatly enhanced throughout Woodrow Wilson’s administration (1913 – 1921). From there centralized policies and control rapidly increased. Below are some of the major policies listed under the President in which they occurred:
The next segment will address the current most popular of the socialistic policies – National or Universal Healthcare.
Happy Learning,
Harley
Dear Friends and Family,
This is the introduction to segment 7 titled “The Creep of Socialism in the United States,” which is a summation of the follow-on excerpts. The beginnings of Socialism in the U.S. run parallel with the centralization of control under the Federal Government. It commenced in 1901 when Theodore Roosevelt smothered states’ rights by imposing federal laws for child labor, restricted works hours for women, and imposed a national eight-hour workday. It continued with the ratification of the 16th amendment permanently legalizing a federal income tax. Centralized control was greatly enhanced throughout Woodrow Wilson’s administration (1913 – 1921). From there centralized policies and control rapidly increased. Below are some of the major policies listed under the President in which they occurred:
- Herbert Hoover: In 1932 when the country was in a recession, Hoover raised income taxes on all citizens which slowed productivity and pushed the country in a recession to a depression.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt: Signs that the depression had bottomed out and the economy was on a rise were not recognized or ignored when Roosevelt took office. Given the high unemployment rate he instituted the New Deal that included multiple economic guarantees in medical care, education, unemployment protection, and retirement security all financed and controlled by the Federal government. These were permanent guarantees most of which still exist today.
- John F. Kennedy: Kennedy introduced Food Stamps that today supports 1 out of every 6 people.
- Lyndon Johnson: Johnson’s efforts to take from the “haves” and give to the “have-nots” via his War on Poverty policies now constitute over half of the Federal Governments budget, creating an entitlement mentality in our society. One such policy was more welfare for each baby born out of wedlock, but he did not simultaneously try to encourage marriage as a means of stemming unintended pregnancies. This has resulted in approximately two thirds of black children growing up today in single parent (usually fatherless) families.
- George W. Bush: The Bush administration further increased centralized control with the enactment of a national prescription drug program.
- Barack Obama: Obama nationalized the student loan program by authorizing the Federal Department of Education to lend to student’s directly thus bypassing private banks and lenders. The Department was borrowing money at 2.8% and lending it to students at 6.8% with the 4% profit going to support ObamaCare.
- Paid Family Leave
- Free full day childcare
- Guaranteed prekindergarten education.
- Tuition free college education
- Labor protections and free health care for illegal undocumented workers.
- Nationalization of Healthcare making healthcare a right, not a privilege.
- Guaranteed affordable housing (another right).
- Forgiveness of student loan debt.
The next segment will address the current most popular of the socialistic policies – National or Universal Healthcare.
Happy Learning,
Harley
SOCIALISM – SEGMENT 7
THE CREEP OF SOCIALISM IN THE UNITED STATES - EXCERPTS
SOCIALISM IN AMERICA: The socialism that most Americans fear isn’t necessarily some party or platform. Americans fear an ever-expanding federal government that consumes an every-growing quantity of their money, creates trillion-dollar liabilities, and puts new restrictions on people’s behavior and activity. That expansion has swelled under the name of almost every political party and declaration since the Civil War. In America, socialism is a uniquely crafted product. Here are examples of how that happened through the offices of the executive branch.
Teddy Roosevelt (1901 – 1909): Roosevelt appointed himself “steward” over America’s welfare and used executive orders to take independent action outside his constitutional boundaries.
William Howard Taft (1909 -1913): In 1913, the 16th Amendment was ratified, permanently legalizing an income tax.
Woodrow Wilson (1913 – 1921): Wilson was an elitist and believed people were too ignorant to understand the complexities of politics – they needed government to do for them all those things that were necessary and good. From that framework, Wilson proceeded to subvert the Constitution with a long list of progressive reforms that forever changed America.
Herbert Hoover (1929 – 1933): Hoover was a benevolent socialist and believed that top-down control of the economy could avert recessions and bring about prosperity. In 1921, he was appointed secretary of commerce where he began his intervention ideas and later led America into economic ruin.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 – 1945): Before Roosevelt took office, signs were present that the Depression had bottomed out and the economy was on the rise. This wasn’t unusual – the economy had recovered from dozens of prior problems without any government intervention.
John F. Kennedy (1961 – 1963): Food Stamps: In 1961, Kennedy’s first executive order was to initiate a food stamp pilot program to help distribute food to the needy. In just one generation, it snowballed into a $75 billion program that, as of this writing, supports more than 48 million Americans – that’s 1 out of every 7.
Lyndon Johnson (1963 – 1969): Johnson’s expansion of government and injection of socialism did more to prove the negative consequences of socialism in America than anyone since FDR.
Richard Nixon (1969 – 1974): Nixon expanded the reach of federal agencies more deeply into business and commerce that any president since World War II.
George H.W. Bush (1989 – 1993): Besides growing taxes, spending, government, and negotiating NAFTA, Bush pushed America away from freedom with another New Deal program. American with Disabilities Act or 1990 (ADA). The ADA falls into the category of civil rights socialism. The Act, another “one size fits all” program forces anyone dealing with the public to comply with rules set by the federal government or be exposed to a costly law suit – an expansion of federal power.
Bill Clinton (1992 – 2001): The only tools his administration gave to the American people were more taxes, more regulations, and more controls, and an expansion to National Welfare. Children in families that didn’t quality for tax-funded Medicaid could qualify for tax-funded CHIP another expansion of government not authorized by the Constitution. CHIP served as a precursor to national health-care reform (Obamacare) passed in 2010.
George W. Bush (2001 – 2009): George W. Bush hurt America with policies of protectionism, increased federal spending, enormous budgets, massive bailouts, and nationalized portions of the economy.
Barack Obama (2009 – 2016): After six year’s in office, the president has but an ugly swath through the heart of the United States with $8 trillion in new debt, a massive shift of priorities toward entitlement that he blithely minted as “hope and change.” Obama plunged the nation into unrecoverable debt that created a welfare class unlike any in the history of the country. A random sampling from his imperialistic presidency includes:
GREAT NATIONS FALL FROM WITHIN: In retrospect, it is clear that many of the troubles that plague the United States today never could have materialized had the country stayed true to its founding principles. But it didn’t. The changes that voided the warranty on liberty didn’t come all at once. The leftward list toward Ruler’s Law came by small degrees, even fractions of degrees. It came in the form of unrestrained expansions of presidential power, unrestrained taxation and spending by Congress, and unrestrained re-interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court. It came by the corruption and loss of national virtue that tends to follow the growth of prosperity. And it came by the subsequent rewriting of the Constitution – not by amending it as much as by gross neglect.
Source: The Naked Socialist by Paul B. Skousen
WHAT IS THE NEXT POTENTIAL CREEPING ASPECT OF SOCIALISM IN THE UNITED STATES?
THE PROMISES;
The unabbreviated version of the above can be found in the pdf document below.
THE CREEP OF SOCIALISM IN THE UNITED STATES - EXCERPTS
SOCIALISM IN AMERICA: The socialism that most Americans fear isn’t necessarily some party or platform. Americans fear an ever-expanding federal government that consumes an every-growing quantity of their money, creates trillion-dollar liabilities, and puts new restrictions on people’s behavior and activity. That expansion has swelled under the name of almost every political party and declaration since the Civil War. In America, socialism is a uniquely crafted product. Here are examples of how that happened through the offices of the executive branch.
Teddy Roosevelt (1901 – 1909): Roosevelt appointed himself “steward” over America’s welfare and used executive orders to take independent action outside his constitutional boundaries.
- Ruler’s Law: Roosevelt called for a faster, easier way to amend the Constitution, he smothered states’ rights, he forced minimum wages and child labor laws, he restricted work hours for women, he imposed the eight-hour work day, he called for Social Security insurance for everyone, and he granted legal protections of unions. All of these fell into the category of Ruler’s Law and gave foundation to the New Deal that would come 20 years later.
William Howard Taft (1909 -1913): In 1913, the 16th Amendment was ratified, permanently legalizing an income tax.
Woodrow Wilson (1913 – 1921): Wilson was an elitist and believed people were too ignorant to understand the complexities of politics – they needed government to do for them all those things that were necessary and good. From that framework, Wilson proceeded to subvert the Constitution with a long list of progressive reforms that forever changed America.
- Federal Reserve Act, 1913
- Progressive Income Tax
- Federal Trade Commission Act, 1914
- Child Labor Law, 1916
- The 8-hour Work Day, 1916
- Supported Socialism
Herbert Hoover (1929 – 1933): Hoover was a benevolent socialist and believed that top-down control of the economy could avert recessions and bring about prosperity. In 1921, he was appointed secretary of commerce where he began his intervention ideas and later led America into economic ruin.
- Adopt Soviet Model: Just like the Russian central planners of the same time period, Hoover believed administrative manipulation of the economy – central planning – was more effective than any of the time-tested natural laws of economics.
- Tax Hike in a Depression? In 1932, Hoover raised the top income rate from 25% to 63%, and from 1% to 4% for the lower rate. All of his meddling slowed productivity. Tax revenues dropped from $834 million in 1931 to $353 million in 1933.
- Hoover’s New Deal: Hoover’s flawed programs pushed a recession into the Great Depression. When Roosevelt took over, his New Deal programs were really a continuation and expansion of Hoover’s original proposals.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 – 1945): Before Roosevelt took office, signs were present that the Depression had bottomed out and the economy was on the rise. This wasn’t unusual – the economy had recovered from dozens of prior problems without any government intervention.
- Stranger Danger: The more Roosevelt intervened with his plethora of programs, the more nervous he made the investors. His policies created an unpredictable investment world with property rights evaporating and various schemes of price fixing, wage fixing, production limitation, and reduction of farm acreage all justifying a great deal of doubt. It led people to believe the government was “preparing the way for socialism, communism, or some other variety of anti-Americanism.
- Economic Bill of Rights: The solution he proposed was a new Bill of Rights that included economic guarantees. Every American, he said, has a right to a job, a “living wage,” freedom from unfair competition, a home, medical care, an education, unemployment protection, and retirement security trough generous tax-support Social Security. Before he was finished, Roosevelt used government force to change and control America in a very fundamental and permanent way.
John F. Kennedy (1961 – 1963): Food Stamps: In 1961, Kennedy’s first executive order was to initiate a food stamp pilot program to help distribute food to the needy. In just one generation, it snowballed into a $75 billion program that, as of this writing, supports more than 48 million Americans – that’s 1 out of every 7.
Lyndon Johnson (1963 – 1969): Johnson’s expansion of government and injection of socialism did more to prove the negative consequences of socialism in America than anyone since FDR.
- War on Poverty, 1964: Johnson’s efforts to take from the “haves” and give to the “have-nots” with his Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 exploded into a monster that today eats almost half of America’s annual production. Johnson’s war on poverty was a colossal failure. The whole fabric of society was polluted beyond repair, and millions of lives were ruined because of entitlement mentality. His program made things worse for lack of – 1). Decreased Spending, 2). Work Requirements – his programs did not ask for so many hours of work in exchange for so much assistance, 3). Loan Option – he did not offer aid in the form of loans. Instead, the checks were generously doled out -- no strings attached, 4). Correct Incentives – he offered more welfare for each baby born out of wedlock but did not similarly try to encourage marriage as a means of stemming unintended pregnancies and to support the family with an income, 5). Immigration Control – Johnson didn’t restrict immigration to those with higher education who could bring marketable value to the country instead of instant dependency.
- Medicare and Medicaid, 1965: From 1776 until 1965, most Americans did not need to depend on the federal government for health care. The exceptions were those in the military or employed by the government. Johnson changed that in 1965. Medicaid was a welfare program set up to help the poor and disabled. These two programs are the natural outcome of a culture so inoculated against the aspirations of freedom that its people became dependent on the government for survival. Whenever such dependency become the accepted norm, the dependent feel trapped and will always vote for the candidates who will assure the continuation of the welfare support.
Richard Nixon (1969 – 1974): Nixon expanded the reach of federal agencies more deeply into business and commerce that any president since World War II.
- Environment Protection Agency – EPA
- Clean Air Act (1970), Clean Water Act (1972): Imposed federal control over state-level air and water quality issues.
- OSHA: In 1970, Nixon formed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration with power to impose safety regulations on almost every commerce activity in America.
George H.W. Bush (1989 – 1993): Besides growing taxes, spending, government, and negotiating NAFTA, Bush pushed America away from freedom with another New Deal program. American with Disabilities Act or 1990 (ADA). The ADA falls into the category of civil rights socialism. The Act, another “one size fits all” program forces anyone dealing with the public to comply with rules set by the federal government or be exposed to a costly law suit – an expansion of federal power.
Bill Clinton (1992 – 2001): The only tools his administration gave to the American people were more taxes, more regulations, and more controls, and an expansion to National Welfare. Children in families that didn’t quality for tax-funded Medicaid could qualify for tax-funded CHIP another expansion of government not authorized by the Constitution. CHIP served as a precursor to national health-care reform (Obamacare) passed in 2010.
George W. Bush (2001 – 2009): George W. Bush hurt America with policies of protectionism, increased federal spending, enormous budgets, massive bailouts, and nationalized portions of the economy.
- Violating State’s Rights: The No Child Left Behind Act forced schools receiving government money (notice how Bush ignored any “interstate commerce” criteria) to meet certain testing requirements and follow certain teaching standards. Failing schools would lose money. The Act removed local control and imposed a one-size-fits-all approach.
- National Prescriptions: Modernizing Medicare was Bush’s expansion of government to cover prescription drugs.
Barack Obama (2009 – 2016): After six year’s in office, the president has but an ugly swath through the heart of the United States with $8 trillion in new debt, a massive shift of priorities toward entitlement that he blithely minted as “hope and change.” Obama plunged the nation into unrecoverable debt that created a welfare class unlike any in the history of the country. A random sampling from his imperialistic presidency includes:
- National Health Care: Obama’s 2010 health-care plan forced Americans to buy into government health insurance, leaving free-market providers to fade away. The nationalizing of the health insurance industry came with trillions of new costs. The resulting chain reaction is destined to regulate the entire American health-care industry into another government run utility, destroying along the way American medicine’s highly revered initiative, efficiency and inventiveness.
- Death Panels: The Independent Payment Advisory Board is a group of 15 people the president appointed to shrink Medicare. Their decisions are law, reversible only by a 3/5ths majority of the Senate. They are beholden to no one and have the power to reduce Medicare checks.
- Takeover of Student Loans: For years, U.S. students could choose from 2,000 private lenders to obtain college loans. In 2010, Obama nationalized the process with a government takeover. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act authorized the Department of Education to lend to student’s directly, bypassing private banks and lenders. The Department borrows money at 2.8% and lends it to students at 6.8%. The 4% “profit” will go toward Obama’s national health-care program.
- Increasing Dependency: Under Obama’s watch, food-stamp recipients grew from 26 million to 47 million in 2013 – that’s one in six Americans. The percentage of Americans receiving federal benefits grew to 47%, in highest level in U.S. history.
GREAT NATIONS FALL FROM WITHIN: In retrospect, it is clear that many of the troubles that plague the United States today never could have materialized had the country stayed true to its founding principles. But it didn’t. The changes that voided the warranty on liberty didn’t come all at once. The leftward list toward Ruler’s Law came by small degrees, even fractions of degrees. It came in the form of unrestrained expansions of presidential power, unrestrained taxation and spending by Congress, and unrestrained re-interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court. It came by the corruption and loss of national virtue that tends to follow the growth of prosperity. And it came by the subsequent rewriting of the Constitution – not by amending it as much as by gross neglect.
Source: The Naked Socialist by Paul B. Skousen
WHAT IS THE NEXT POTENTIAL CREEPING ASPECT OF SOCIALISM IN THE UNITED STATES?
THE PROMISES;
- The Minimum Wage must become a living wage
- Guaranteed seven day of paid sick leave per year
- Decent Quality, affordable housing should be a right of all Americans
- Free full-day, high quality child care from infancy to age three for the 75% of families making $100,000 or less per year
- Every child starting at age three will be guaranteed a prekindergarten education regardless of family income
- Government banking services
- Make all Public colleges and universities tuition-free
- TRIO Program which provides important services for students who have a high-than-average likelihood of either not going to college or dropping out before graduating.
- Legislation to make solar energy more accessible to low-income families
- Extend labor protections to undocumented workers.
- Federal economic assistance to “sanctuary cities”
- Expanding VA benefits
- Health Care is a right, not a privilege. A Medicare for All single-payer system. All Americans would receive health care through the new systems, rather than an employer-based program.
- Debt forgiveness for those medical, dental, and nursing school graduates prepared to practice in medically underserved areas. Source: Our Revolution by Bernie Sanders
- Family Leave Every worker in America should be guaranteed at least 12 weeks of paid family leave and medical leave to take care for a baby; to help a family member who is diagnosed with cancer or some other serios medical condition; or to take care of themselves if they become seriously ill.
- Health Insurance Companies Eliminate all payments to private insurance companies. So, people would not be paying premiums to United Health, WellPoint, Blue Cross Blue Shield and other private insurance companies. It would be government-run insurance. Source: The Essential Bernie Sanders and his Vison for America by Jonathan Tasini.
The unabbreviated version of the above can be found in the pdf document below.
| 7_soc_creep_of_socialism_in_u.s..pdf |