New Deal or Raw Deal? Quotes

“Constitutionalists believe taxpayers are better stewards of their money than government. Since people, even very wise people, are limited in what they can know about complex societies, voluntary giving is the proper way for an individual to become an “ally of the poor.”
― Burton W. Folsom Jr., New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America

“In crafting the Constitution, the Founders emphasized process, not results. If we follow the Constitution, we won’t have a perfect society, which is unattainable by imperfect humans. But we will provide opportunity for people to use their natural rights to pursue the acquisition of property and their personal happiness. The results may yield sharp inequalities of income, but the process will guarantee chances for almost everyone.”
― Burton W. Folsom Jr., New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America

“Experiment is valued by Schlesinger more than experience, and compassion, not results, is described as “the best answer.” Leuchtenburg follows a similar line and notes, “many workingmen, poor farmers, and others who felt themselves to have been neglected in the past regarded Roosevelt as their friend. They sensed that his was a humane administration, that the President cared what happened to them.” Historians seem to focus on “caring” and “compassion” more than on the unprecedented lack of recovery for the eleven years from 1929 to 1940.”
― Burton W. Folsom Jr., New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America

“Underconsumption theory especially appealed to intellectuals. If the rich were wrecking American industry, exploiting tax cuts, and using their economic power to impoverish farmers and laborers, then capitalism was failing. Government, by implication, needed to step in and appoint “experts” to planning boards to jump-start the”
― Burton W. Folsom Jr., New Deal or Raw Deal?: How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America