Meme Deflation # 1 :" The New Deal Didn't Work."

One of my least favorite memes about the is the 11-word dismissal of the New Deal. It goes like this: "The New Deal didn't end The Great Depression, the War did." Perhaps you have heard it before. It is usually followed by with, "See the government can't create jobs or stimulate the economy..." This false meme is oft stated by: A) People who read history books published solely by the Regnery Press, B) Ron Paul voters who disdain books in general AND C) People that think Dave Ramsey should be Treasury Secretary. Here are 11 words to deflate it. Ready? "Really? Which industry hired all those people during World War II?" In reality, honest historians assert the New Deal saved capitalism, curbed the Great Depression and helped make America the world power it remains. Don't believe me? Pick one: The New Deal, through FERA, brought immediate relief and work projects to the poor. The list goes on... There are controversies, yes. FDR misstepped. You bet he did. As all Presidents do. For example, the AAA reduced farm subsidies in an effort to boost farm prices, essentially paying farmers not to farm. And the NRA suspended anti-trust laws to encourage greater cooperation among industries. These last two were later declared unconstitutional, by the way. And they are ideal examples of why our checks and balances system needs to be kept. And why FDR's biggest blunder was his attempt to "pack the court," a move even the Socialists opposed. On the whole, though, the New Deal helped prove the US federal government to be what it is today: The greatest source of good in the history of civilization. Its why FDR all our elderly receive SSI to this day. Its why you can put money in your local bank, knowing that it will be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC), should the bank go belly-up. Its why there remain roads, parks and trees made by poor young men through the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Its why you can't just buy stock on credit indefinitely (as you shouldn't), as monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its why people didn't starve (yes, starve) to death because they received funds from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Its why Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia have electricity through the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Its why FDR is regularly ranked among Lincoln and Washington. Its why I've got a picture of FDR on my wall.

Bumper Sticker Thinking

I have a friend on The Right who asked me why we have

new taxes

coming in January if "Obamacare" (his word) was a cost-saving measure. I'd like to think this is symptomatic of just The Right, but in reality, it is symptomatic of non-thinkers in general. We have new taxes coming to pay for a new program, the reasoning goes. Like many things, our tax code is more complex. It reminds me of those bumper stickers that read, "It will be a great day when the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to pay for a bomber and schools have everything they need." Or... "Ted Nugent is my President." In reality, where I live, The new taxes being implemented have nothing whatsoever to do with The Affordable Care Act. Not only are the new taxes completely unrelated to the ACA, they aren't even new. The Bush-era tax cuts are ending come December 31, 2012. They were scheduled to end on December 31, 2010, but President Obama and the Republican leaders extended them as part of an overall package to stimulate economic growth. Clinton-era tax rates from 1993 will increase the top two income tax rates from 36% to 39.6%, with the top rate hitting joint returns with incomes exceeding a quarter of a million dollars. Those criticizing the Obama Administration for higher taxes should point their fingers elsewhere.

Apparently my tweet to Sarah Palin has been picked up by twitchy.com. Palin wrote

Results whether good or bad come from the choices we make. Choose wisely.

I responded

So sayeth the woman who quit governing a state to host a reality show.

This doesn't read snarky, mean or disingenuous to me.

Who Shot Him?

Larry Hagman died this morning. I'm informed from his bio that he was: A) Born in Texas, B)the son of Mary Martin (who played Peter Pan), and C) the star of both I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas. Fame is just so fascinating to me. Every image of Hagman on my computer monitor shows the man in a ten-gallon hat. Did Hagman wear a ten-gallon hat prior to Dallas, I wonder? If the show never took off, would Hagman have worn an astronaut's uniform after Jeannie ended? Does Jamie Farr dress like Carmen Miranda when publicity opportunities arise? Clayton Moore had "The Lone Ranger," engraved on his headstone. Not his wife's name. His role. On a Children's show. In the 1950's. Fame fascinates me.

My friend Shelley advised me to start writing a blog after the election. Fine. I saw "Life of Pi" this morning. Every once in a while a movie comes along that makes me change the way I think, elevating filmmaking to the art form that it can be. Was the journey Pi took for real? I don't know. Does it matter? I don't know that, either, but I don't think so. I was more engaged, believe it or not, in the prologue. Our protagonist, Pi, engages in every religion he finds. An amalgam of faith, if you will. His father explains that believing in everything is synonymous with believing in everything. I could have saved Pi all the trouble by taking him to a Unitarian service.

Okay, there is no way the man who wrote "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" would prioritize designing video games over writing. The "Mark Twain Memory Game" was a way for Twain to make money. (It failed to do so, by the way.)

This is like saying Michelangelo would have illustrated for Disney instead of painting the Sistine Chapel.

(And Twain is in his league.)

I believe at some point in the development of healthy people there must come a time when we instinctively try to understand how others feel.

I think Maslow would agree.

I am a child of the next generation. I grew up after The Beatles broke up, when Nixon wasn't a viable candidate anymore and "negro" was a little too close for comfort to another word. As I enter my forties now, I realize my incredible fortune in having parents that read to me and encouraged me to think.

I cringe with shame at some of the stupid, naive things I said about race in my younger days because I had yet to attain level at which we feel empathy for others. It took a combination of having a handicapped child, marrying the world's best person, and teaching children of all races for 11 years to make me realize the error of my ways.

One more note:
There isn't anything in Roger's blog about politics that I can find, yet the "liberals and racism" charge seems to keep popping up.