Tag: fat lady

03/16/11

Deficit to debt

This political cartoon is the work of Herbert Johnson of the Saturday Evening Post, from the 1930s Continue reading on Examiner.com: Political Cartoon Controversy in New York Post - National progressive politics | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/progressive-politics-in-national/political-cartoon-controversy-new-york-post#ixzz1GkWD5F10

This cartoon is a reaction to the controversies around budget deficit, which FDR’s presidency is known for.
FDR during his 1st election campaign while talking about broadening government’s responsibilities advocated balanced federal budget and criticized President Hoover for excessive spending. In 1933 the passing of The Economy Act reduced salaries of government employees and cut pensions to veterans by 15%. This allowed to save 500 millions a year (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal). However during his presidency federal budget deficit had been adding up at an unprecedented pace of $24,746,949,443 on average a year according to http://home.adelphi.edu/sbloch/deficits.html. Hover’s budget was only increased by $6,852,813,799 a year on average. Such a deficit came as a result of all the government programs that FDR created. He argued that there were two parts of federal budget – a “regular” part, which he balanced by cutting salaries etc, and the “emergency” part. The latter he justified by unique crisis the country was going through, Great Depression. The emergency budget did not have to be balanced temporarily to help the country climb out of the crisis.

02/14/11

It Aint Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings!

Fat Lady Singing

Reconstruction virtually ended when the fat lady sang in Ford’s Theater.  A single bullet to the back of the head killed the hopes and dreams freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln was assasignated on the night of April 14, 1865.  Lincoln’s death left Andrew Johnson to be president.

In January 1865 General Sherman issued Special Field Orders, No. 15, which is known to most as 40 Acres and a Mule.  It was an order that gave freed black slaves land. Approximately 10000 freed slaves had settled on 400,000 Acres of land when new President Johnson reversed the order and forced freed blacks to return the land.

Also Established in 1865 was the Freedman’s Bureau. The Freedman’s Bureau created schools & hospitals, negotiated labor contracts, leased or sold confiscated lands to the freed men, and tried to protect former slaves from their masters in the South.  President Johnson vetoed the bill for its extension in 1866. 

The final straw for a reconstruction period that barely got  anything done was in 1877 with the corrupt bargain.  The corrupt bargain was basically a deal that exchanged the presidency for an unsupervised south.  This is likely what lead to Jim Crow laws and other laws of that nature. 

Reconstruction ended at the very beginning, with Lincoln’s Death.