Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

by Caroline Fraser

The irony cannot be overstated. MacBride chose a quotation much bandied about by conservatives like himself, who had not read the original. Paine’s “Agrarian Justice,” a pamphlet issued in 1797, argued that those who owned private property should be taxed to create “a national fund” benefiting the blind, lame, and elderly, as well as young persons just starting out in life. It was the first argument for Social Security.

That's rich. Haha