Neither Republican nor Democratic political machines were social welfare organizations, although they could be mistaken for them in hindsight. They were usually far more conservative than the voters who supported them; machine politicians had no ambitions to overturn the existing order of things. They were often fiscally conservative. In part they had to be, since legislatures restricted the ability of cities to borrow. In New York and San Francisco, the machines allied with local business groups that sought low taxes. They were, for a price, just as likely to protect landlords who exploited
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