US HISTORY: SPICONARDI

Criticisms of the New Deal

Conservatives Criticism

Taxes too highToo much government

regulation/interference Who is the government to control agricultural

production? Who is the government to set prices and wages?

Destroying self-reliance and individual initiative

Conservative Criticism

Deficit spending was out of control Deficit

spending When the government spends more than it earns

Liberals Criticism

Huey Long Gov. of Louisiana (later Senator of L.A.) Proclaimed: “Every Man a king, but No One Wears a

Crown.” Believed wealth had to be redistributed

"God called: 'Come to my feast.' But what had happened? Rockefeller, Morgan, and their crowd stepped up and took enough for 120,000,000 people and left only enough for 5,000,000 for all the other 125,000,000 to eat. And so many millions must go hungry."

Liberal Criticism

Share our Wealth Society Long proposed a new

progressive tax code All wealth greater than $1

million dollars would be taxed 2nd million at 1 percent 3rd million at 2 percent 4th million at 4 percent 5th million at 8 percent 6th million at 16 percent 7th million at 32 percent 8th million at 64 percent All additional wealth at

100 percent

Money from capital taxes would be used for a Homestead

allowance of $5,000• An allowance to

protect a household, if the owner died with a large amount of debt

Annual income of $2,000

Fr. Coughlin

Roman Catholic priest whose weekly radio program attacked Roosevelt and the New Deal Believed Roosevelt catered to Wall

Street Anti-capitalist, but also anti-

communist Believed Wall Street and communism

were the “twin faces” of Satan Blamed the Great Depression on the

“international conspiracy of Jewish bankers”

Did the New Deal Work?

Did the New Deal Work?

Did the New Deal Work?

1944

1941

1935-1936

1929

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Poorest FifthPoorest Two-FifthsSecond Poorest FifthFifthMiddle FifthSecond Wealthiest FifthWealthiest FifthWealthiest 5 Percent

Distribution of Total Family Income in U.S. 1929- 1944

Did the New Deal Work?

29 31 33 35 37 39 410

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

Business Failures

Business Failures

Did the New Deal Work?

29 31 33 35 37 39 410

5001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,500

Bank Failures

Bank Failures

Did the New Deal work?

29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 410

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Wages & Salaries

Wages & Salaries D

oll

ars

(B

illi

on

s)

Did the New Deal work?

293031323334353637383940410

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Farm Prices

Farm PricesPri

ces

rece

ived

by

Farm

ers

(1

967 =

100

)