A blog dedicated to the rational discussion of politics and current events.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The times they are a changing......a lot
As someone who supports moderate, pragmatic, reality-based Eisenhower style Republicanism, not the far right wing ideology driven, lunatic fringe we have now on the right, this caught my attention. From the Ike era:
Could Ike be elected today … as a Republican … or as a Democrat ?
Consider his first State of the Union address, given just days after assuming the presidency, he promoted the need for the for greater effectiveness of government programs : “The provisions of the old-age and survivors insurance law should promptly be extended to cover millions of citizens who have been left out of the social security system.” As he worked to expand Social Security participation and eligibility, he was challenged by the opposition that stressed their belief that retirement income was the responsibility of every individual and the federal government should not be involved -- essentially, one citizen should not have to pay for the old age necessities of another. President Eisenhower responded to this notion during his press conference on June 17, 1953 with these remarks: “A strict application, let us say, of economic theory, at least as taught by Adam Smith, would be, ‘Let these people take care of themselves; during their active life they are supposed to save enough to take care of themselves.’ In this modern industry, dependent as we are on mass production, and so on, we create conditions where that is no longer possible for everybody. So the active part of the population has to take care of all the population, and if they haven’t been able during the course of their active life to save up enough money, we have these systems.” On August 28, 1954 Eisenhower signed the Agricultural Act which brought 3.6 million farm operators and 2.1 million farm workers Social Security coverage. Four days later he signed the Social Security Amendments Act which brought almost another 5 million people (doctors, lawyers, dentists, architects, accountants and other professionals as well as clergymen, and state and local retirement systems) into Social Security coverage.
The poster is a shorthand version of the Republican Platform which Eisenhower ran on in his re-election in 1956 … … here are some of the planks (bolding added by me) : Labor Under the Republican Administration, as our country has prospered, so have its people. This is as it should be, for as President Eisenhower said: "Labor is the United States. The men and women, who with their minds, their hearts and hands, create the wealth that is shared in this country—they are America."
The record of performance of the Republican Administration on behalf of our working men and women goes still further. The Federal minimum wage has been raised for more than 2 million workers. Social Security has been extended to an additional 10 million workers and the benefits raised for 6 1/2 million. The protection of unemployment insurance has been brought to 4 million additional workers. There have been increased workmen's compensation benefits for longshoremen and harbor workers, increased retirement benefits for railroad employees, and wage increases and improved welfare and pension plans for federal employees. All workers have gained and unions have grown in strength and responsibility, and have increased their membership by 2 millions. Furthermore, the process of free collective bargaining has been strengthened by the insistence of this Administration that labor and management settle their differences at the bargaining table without the intervention of the Government. The Eisenhower Administration will continue to fight for dynamic and progressive programs which, among other things, will: Stimulate improved job safety of our workers, through assistance to the States, employees and employers; Continue and further perfect its programs of assistance to the millions of workers with special employment problems, such as older workers, handicapped workers, members of minority groups, and migratory workers; Assure equal pay for equal work regardless of Sex;
Today, we can either blame Ike for the mess that we are in or PRAISE HIM for his wisdom.
I love this one. Good research. Indeed, the times have changed. Thanks for digging this one up.
ReplyDeleteCould Ike be elected today … as a Republican … or as a Democrat ?
ReplyDeleteConsider his first State of the Union address, given just days after assuming the presidency, he promoted the need for the for greater effectiveness of government programs : “The provisions of the old-age and survivors insurance law should promptly be extended to cover millions of citizens who have been left out of the social security system.”
As he worked to expand Social Security participation and eligibility, he was challenged by the opposition that stressed their belief that retirement income was the responsibility of every individual and the federal government should not be involved -- essentially, one citizen should not have to pay for the old age necessities of another. President Eisenhower responded to this notion during his press conference on June 17, 1953 with these remarks: “A strict application, let us say, of economic theory, at least as taught by Adam Smith, would be, ‘Let these people take care of themselves; during their active life they are supposed to save enough to take care of themselves.’ In this modern industry, dependent as we are on mass production, and so on, we create conditions where that is no longer possible for everybody. So the active part of the population has to take care of all the population, and if they haven’t been able during the course of their active life to save up enough money, we have these systems.”
On August 28, 1954 Eisenhower signed the Agricultural Act which brought 3.6 million farm operators and 2.1 million farm workers Social Security coverage. Four days later he signed the Social Security Amendments Act which brought almost another 5 million people (doctors, lawyers, dentists, architects, accountants and other professionals as well as clergymen, and state and local retirement systems) into Social Security coverage.
The poster is a shorthand version of the Republican Platform which Eisenhower ran on in his re-election in 1956 … … here are some of the planks (bolding added by me) :
Labor
Under the Republican Administration, as our country has prospered, so have its people. This is as it should be, for as President Eisenhower said: "Labor is the United States. The men and women, who with their minds, their hearts and hands, create the wealth that is shared in this country—they are America."
The record of performance of the Republican Administration on behalf of our working men and women goes still further. The Federal minimum wage has been raised for more than 2 million workers. Social Security has been extended to an additional 10 million workers and the benefits raised for 6 1/2 million. The protection of unemployment insurance has been brought to 4 million additional workers. There have been increased workmen's compensation benefits for longshoremen and harbor workers, increased retirement benefits for railroad employees, and wage increases and improved welfare and pension plans for federal employees.
All workers have gained and unions have grown in strength and responsibility, and have increased their membership by 2 millions.
Furthermore, the process of free collective bargaining has been strengthened by the insistence of this Administration that labor and management settle their differences at the bargaining table without the intervention of the Government.
The Eisenhower Administration will continue to fight for dynamic and progressive programs which, among other things, will:
Stimulate improved job safety of our workers, through assistance to the States, employees and employers;
Continue and further perfect its programs of assistance to the millions of workers with special employment problems, such as older workers, handicapped workers, members of minority groups, and migratory workers;
Assure equal pay for equal work regardless of Sex;
Today, we can either blame Ike for the mess that we are in or PRAISE HIM for his wisdom.