(A cycle of building, destroying, and now renewing/expanding)
Even before FDR’s socially responsible New Deal and laws passed since, corporations and excessively wealthy individuals have been stealthily working to put our democracy in chains by neutering the Federal government, eliminating majority rule, and defunding our social programs.
American Socialism Advances:
In 1935, FDR brought us Social Security, which initially did not include domestic and farm workers, but was eventually expanded to all workers. Now it just needs removal of the income cap to keep it funded.
In 1965, LBJ amended the Social Security Act to add Medicare and Medicaid, which now needs expansion to cover all citizens. LBJ also signed The Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Acts, which have been under attack ever since.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s, the Federal government forced corporations to start cleanup of the environment with the Clear Air and Clean Water Acts. This created the EPA. There was also the Job Safety law of 1970 that created OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). These agencies need increased funding and pro-citizen management.
Corporations Taking Our Empowerment and Protection:
These efforts by the Federal government to empower and protect citizens were met with well organized resistance and lots of Kochkash.
Through several SCOTUS rulings, constitutional right have been extended to man-made corporations. With those undeserved rights, corporations are economically starving the government of we the people and replacing it with a corporate rubber stamp. Corporations are robbing and pillaging America’s common wealth and destroying the public infrastructure to equally empower and protect all citizens. Corporations are replacing the social contract with an individual contract to empower and protect themselves.
In the 50’s, James Buchanan started work immediately to resist Brown v BofE in Virginia. As detailed in Democracy In Chains, the works of Buchanan were eventually melded with Kochkash to stealthily plan the destruction of American socialism through messaging, defunding social programs, and privatization of public resources to enrich those responsible for this destruction.
In 1970, Congress passed the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 and opened up all their committees to the public and, incidentally, corporate lobbyists.
In 1971, the US Chamber of Commerce contracted with future SCOTUS justice, Lewis Powell to detail ideas for how corporations could respond to the recent laws that reduced their corporate gains. The Powell Memo provided another means for investing Kochkash by funding ALEC and numerous anti-government think tanks like The Cato Institute and The Heritage Foundation.
Since the 70’s corporations have kept the rewards of our increased productivity for themselves by keeping wage growth stagnant. They have reduced benefits and left workers to fend for themselves as independent contractors with absolutely no bargaining power.
The infrastructure created during the recovery from the Great Depression is on the verge of collapse. Public roads and public water supply systems need upgrading. Some publicly funded services, prisons for example, have been privatized for the wealthy. Public education is failing due to defunding. Other publicly funded earned benefits like Social Security and Medicare are a top priority for privatization.
Expanding American Socialism
We need to regain control of our government so it will empower and protect all human citizens equally. This is American socialism that was significantly enhanced under FDR, Eisenhower, LBJ, and Nixon. American socialism maximizes individual freedom while regulating those who take their freedoms to excess and abuse citizens.
Empowering citizens requires a Federal government that maximizes one’s ability to succeed. The ability to succeed is maximized through adequately funded public education, properly maintained public roads, public transportation, clear air, clean public water and sewage treatment, a mandated living wage, and healthcare for all.
Protecting citizens requires a Federal government that maximizes one’s freedom to succeed. This started with our Bill of Rights and has been expanded with other constitutional amendments. We now need protection from man-made corporations by ending corporate personhood and declaring free speech can only come from human beings. We also need the act of voting to be declared a right and to maximize all citizens’ freedom to exercise that right.
Balancing the freedoms of users and abusers requires a balanced national economy and elected federal officials who understand deficits which equally empower and protect citizens are sometimes necessary. This balanced economy promotes full employment at a livable wage while preserving public services, infrastructure, and lands needed for the “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” of all citizens.
Controlling inflation in a balanced economy requires a progressive revenue system which increases contributions to replensish the common wealth based on one’s ability to pay and one’s use of the common wealth. In other words, the more you gain from the commons, the more you pay in citizenship dues to maintain the commons for the social welfare of all.
American socialism equally empowers and protects citizens through a balanced national economy that uses both deficit spending only for the common good and progressive citizenship dues as necessary to keep that economy balanced.
Andy Hailey