I’m behind on a great many things at the moment, and one of them is noting the Left’s two-minute hate drill against Paul Ryan a couple of weeks back for the sin of speaking about the social wreckage of underclass that federal social programs are unable to reach—when they don’t in fact make it worse.
It put me in the frame of mind to recall this similar comment:
The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole our relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of a sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America. Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers.
The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief.
I am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash, of market baskets, of a few hours of weekly work cutting grass, raking leaves, or picking up papers in the public parks. We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destitution but also their self-respect, their self-reliance, and courage and determination.
FDR, racist bigot.
Who said this? That well-known racist bigot, Franklin Roosevelt–in his 1935 State of the Union address. Who knew? Paul Krugman, call your office.
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