Roosevelt's Reincarnation

Is Sanders the reincarnation of Roosevelt? Sanders has championed environmental causes, stands up to Wall Street and today's "captains of industry," and wants to break up the banks. Similar to Standard Oil and other monopolies during Roosevelt's era, the top six banks today control 60 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, which is why Sanders feels the need to ensure that no bank is too big to fail anymore.

With Sanders against the Trans-Pacific Partnership and has made an issue of America's shrinking manufacturing sector, President Reagan's policies mirrored the concerns of Vermont's junior senator. When the auto industry needed government intervention, Reagan stated, "I have proposed an acceleration in the rate of government purchases of motor vehicles." As for the belief that Reagan kept government away from industry, the Gipper also stated: "The U.S. Government will spend about $100 million more on government vehicles this fiscal year, which, while helping the industry, will also lower the government's operating costs." In addition, a New York Times article highlights that Reagan was always willing to utilize government's influence in order to help business:

Liberals have had a crush on Scandinavia for decades. “It is a country whose very name has become a synonym for a materialist paradise,” observed Time magazine in a 1976 story on Sweden. “Its citizens enjoy one of the world’s highest living standards. . . . Neither ill health, unemployment nor old age pose the terror of financial hardship. [Sweden’s] cradle-to-grave benefits are unmatched in any other free society outside Scandinavia.” In 2010, a National Public Radio story marveled at the way “Denmark Thrives Despite High Taxes.” The small Nordic nation, said NPR, “seems to violate the laws of the economic universe,” improbably balancing low poverty and unemployment rates with stratospheric taxes that were among the world’s highest.

When the rich get richer and the middle class shrinks so do tax revenues; the poor pay no taxes and neither the wealthy. Trump does not mind to pay higher taxes, but according to the present system of taxation even higher taxes can be smartly circumvented.  Job growth, under this kind of capitalism has only one benefit: more people are employed and only their taxes are deducted from their paycheck and not those of their bosses; and many don't even bother with tax-deductions. Under Sanders all would be equally tax-responsible and fairly so and that in turn would increase revenues, but then we have the problem of growing government, which might lead to a Denmark style socialism. Do Americans want another Denmark? Hardly. 

There is the combination of both worlds. Bernie Sanders' plan sure sounds good: Make tuition free at all public colleges and universities. Expand Medicare to all Americans so no one would go without health insurance. Rebuild Americans' crumbling roads, bridges, airports, public transit systems and ports. Create 1 million jobs for disadvantaged youth. 

Someone must do it and it is the government's responsibility. 

Idle Economy Mobilized 

America's response to World War II was the most extraordinary mobilization of an idle economy in the history of the world. During the war 17 million new civilian jobs were created, industrial productivity increased by 96 percent, and corporate profits after taxes doubled. The government expenditures helped bring about the business recovery that had eluded the New Deal. 

War needs directly consumed over one-third of the output of industry, but the expanded productivity ensured a remarkable supply of consumer goods to the people as well. America was the only that saw an expansion of consumer goods despite wartime rationing. By 1944, as a result of wage increases and overtime pay, real weekly wages before taxes in manufacturing were 50 percent higher than in 1939.

The war also created entire new technologies, industries, and associated human skills.

The war brought full employment and a fairer distribution of income. Blacks and women entered the workforce for the first time. Wages increased; so did savings.

The war brought the consolidation of union strength and far-reaching changes in agricultural life. Housing conditions were better than they had been before.  

Instead of having a real war we can invent one and again mobilize the country. All hardware and aging military gear must be upgraded. Ports, roads, bridges and the electric grid must be modernized; all cables must be put into tubes and buried. An all-out war against this stagnant outdated infrastructure may smack of socialism, but is necessary for pure capitalism won't do it unless the US government sponsors it.  

Contributor: Joseph Luxum