Originally posted by storch
..... the man needed to have gone after his second term. one of our best presidents? we are still suffering under the weight of his imbecillic and catastrophic policies to this very day.
I'll grant you he was ineffective his 4th term due to failing health, but there was a national desire to not change horses in the middle of a war.
I'll also grant that, despite popular opinions, he did not manage to end the depression with his "New Deal" -- I also don't think laissez-faire policies would have ended the suffering much sooner, despite what FDR's critics claim --- it took a war economy and war production to finally do that in the end as the problem of the Depression was so large.
He also made mistakes in dealing with Stalin and Churchill, especially in regards to post war Europe.
Which programs of his still haunt us storch?
Are you referring to the WPA??
Works Progress Administration, that employed millions of Americans and worked to create public facilities and infrastructure, such as highways, streets, public buildings, airports, utilities, power generating dams, sewers, parks, city halls, public libraries, and recreational fields. "
The WPA built 650,000 miles of roads, 78,000 bridges, 125,000 buildings, and 700 miles of airport runways." And it was disbanded in 1943.
The
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)? Been 70 years of Administrations and Congressional Representatives to put their stamp on the SEC since it's inception. And we haven't had a downturn on the scale of the Depression since it's formation.
Social Security?? What has happened to Social Security in the last 70 years is the fault of politicians adding more benefits and entitlements to the program over all that time. The original idea of SS is not bad, just the way it's been mismanaged for over half a century. Not FDR's fault.
His making the Presidency a more powerful position in the government? Turns out that was a good think in light America ended up fighting a World War. That he managed to force Lend Lease through to keep Russia and Britain in the fight long enough until the U.S.A. joined after Pearl Harbor was also a feat.
We are also lucky Germany declared war on the U.S. after Pearl. If they had not, would America have gone to war against just Japan? You can argue both ways.
Which exactly of FDR's policies from the 1930's and 1940's, relatively unaffected by 70 years of Washington D.C. politicians, politics, and Administrations, do we still suffer under? I am curious.