This is an excerpt from President Roosevelt's January 11, 1944 State of the Union Address. Franklin D. Roosevelt's list has been called the "Economic Bill of Rights," as well as the "Second Bill of Rights." I call it the "Socialist Bill of Rights." He intended to implement these rights through political policy. As freedom loving Americans we recognize that there is only room for one Bill of Rights, and that is the list of God-given, Constitutionally-enumerated rights listed by the Founding Fathers of America. The 2 lists of "rights" cannot coexist.
American "rights" given in the US Constitution are a list of what the Government cannot legally stop citizens from doing. They are not things that the Government will give to citizens. This list ensures liberty to all, and have safeguards against tyranny and centralized Government.
FDR's Socialist "rights" are things that the socialists believe should be done for the citizens, by the Government. This list attempts to ensure "security" to all. The result is a strong growth of Government, and sacrificing liberty of the citizens.
As students of history, we observe that FDR's socialist programs extended the a U.S. recession to last a full decade, now better known as the Great Depression.
And FDR would have been served well to take a lesson from Benjamin Franklin, who said, "Those who would sacrifice Liberty for Security, deserve neither."
FDR said:It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.
This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.
As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.
We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are:
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
- The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
- The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
- The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
- The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
- The right of every family to a decent home;
- The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
- The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
- The right to a good education.
America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.
American "rights" given in the US Constitution are a list of what the Government cannot legally stop citizens from doing. They are not things that the Government will give to citizens. This list ensures liberty to all, and have safeguards against tyranny and centralized Government.
FDR's Socialist "rights" are things that the socialists believe should be done for the citizens, by the Government. This list attempts to ensure "security" to all. The result is a strong growth of Government, and sacrificing liberty of the citizens.
As students of history, we observe that FDR's socialist programs extended the a U.S. recession to last a full decade, now better known as the Great Depression.
And FDR would have been served well to take a lesson from Benjamin Franklin, who said, "Those who would sacrifice Liberty for Security, deserve neither."
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