I follow Barack Obama on Twitter. Today I received this:
BarackObama Barack Obama
Speaking at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. Watch live at 7pm ET. http://wh.gov/live
Will be interested to see what Obama has to say. His speech can be watched live here
Here’s JFK’s inaugural speech
So much of what he says is relevant today. Some of it clearly isn’t. But one quote stood out for me:
“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
Here’s the text of his speech
If a free society can’t help the poor then it’s because the rich are preventing them from doing so by appropriating all the wealth.
If the rich believe that they are the chosen ones then they may despise those who are not rich.
If the rich believe that they have had good fortune then they may empathise with those who are not rich.
(Not Kennedy but maybe Labour Leaders? National Leaders?)
“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning, but we shouldn’t be,” said Warren Buffett, the richest man in the world, who subsequently gave half his money away.
I am still yet to see what is defined as poor in New Zealand and what % of the population that definition make up. The last poor person that was pointed out to me was still able to buy a packet of cigarettes, a dozen beer and watch sky tv on their LCD.
@ indiana, you want to get out more …
@ jennifer
You need to realise the difference between welfare and charity.
gordie, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is not a matter of welfare or charity, but how the national economy is set up to operate within the global market.
The state of the union address January 1944 of FDR.
http://www.suite101.com/content/michael-moore-finds-forgotten-fdr-speech-a153352
Things Labour would dump if they were to go on FDR’s ideas (which never worked in the first place, but hey, for argument’s sake):
# The right of every business man, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination from monopolies at home or abroad
Can’t have that, because it would fly in the face of state owned monopolies like how Telecom and power used to be and how ACC is. Labour would like to go back to those old Muldoon days (Mallard in a recent interview praised Muldoon, for instance) so they can’t have that.
# The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
Can’t have that, farmers don’t vote Labour and their stock contributes to the big scary climate change, of which we should all be writhing in fear about.
# The right to a useful and renumerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
Again, farmers don’t vote Labour so they’ll dump that. Mines are bad for climate change and ruin out “precious” trees. It’ll just be factory workers, unionised factory workers mind you.
# The right to adequate protection from the economc fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
Pensions, national health, ACC and the dole. Even in America they have social security, medicare, medicaid and unemployment. The problem is here we have a culture of people who live off the dole, and so they need time limits on it.
# The right to a good education.
Define “good”. In the 50s America had the best education system in the world, its been declining ever since the dept of education was opened. Here, we have free primary and secondary education and tertiary education comes with a government loan. Tertiary education I believe is a privilege, not a right, but not a privilege based on money (which is why I support student loans, just want an interest rate set to inflation) but intelligence and what you achieved at school. FDR is blowing smoke here, he knew the US’s education system was top standard back then, he just wanted to own it.
And just because FDR said it, doesn’t make it practical or right. FDR thought it a pretty cool idea to lock up Japanese Americans in interment camps.
FDR to Congress 6 January 1941.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrthefourfreedoms.htm
For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy.
The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:
Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
Jobs for those who can work.
Security for those who need it.
The ending of special privilege for the few.
The preservation of civil liberties for all.
The enjoyment — The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
These are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.
Many subjects connected with our social economy call for immediate improvement. As examples:
We should bring more citizens under the coverage of old-age pensions and unemployment insurance.
We should widen the opportunities for adequate medical care.
We should plan a better system by which persons deserving or needing gainful employment may obtain it.
I have called for personal sacrifice, and I am assured of the willingness of almost all Americans to respond to that call. A part of the sacrifice means the payment of more money in taxes. In my budget message I will recommend that a greater portion of this great defense program be paid for from taxation than we are paying for today. No person should try, or be allowed to get rich out of the program, and the principle of tax payments in accordance with ability to pay should be constantly before our eyes to guide our legislation.
If the Congress maintains these principles the voters, putting patriotism ahead pocketbooks, will give you their applause.
In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.
That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called “new order” of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.
To that new order we oppose the greater conception — the moral order. A good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear.
Since the beginning of our American history we have been engaged in change, in a perpetual, peaceful revolution, a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly, adjusting itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quicklime in the ditch. The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.
This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.
To that high concept there can be no end save victory.
Thanks SPC. Have to go to bed. But there’s much to ponder.
Gordie, I don’t know what your story is. But I feel sad. I am an avowed pragmatic idealist. I believe change for good is possible. I believe that our country, our society can be more equal. That we do control our own destiny. You seem stuck.
Morality and Capitalism
Jennifer…took your advice, went to India, saw some poor people there, couldn’t compare them to the poor in New Zealand…ditto in Africa, South America and San Francisco, where I practically tripped up over homeless people every 5m. Went to Victoria Park in Auckland city, where some “homeless” booze and smoke it up and pass the time. Strangely, every fortnight, they seemed “rich” with cash. Perhaps we do need to define what “a poor New Zealander” is just so the public know and will be better informed about themselves and when they vote on issues about the “poor” in NZ.
We know about the 20% of children in poverty – those raised up on benefits. We know that for some of them their housing is often not healthy, and there is often not adequate take up of the B4 school health programme, they do not get adequate nutrition etc. There are consequences such as subseqent benefit dependency resulting from lack of achievement in school resulting from poor health and lack of motivation/inspiration/self-worth.
We know housing not insulated is poor housing – yet we do not require rental property to be insulated.
indiana, are you saying what you wish for future NZers is not to be as poor as India’s poor and that’s the standard you aspire to for our children?
everyone on a benefit is not a drinker and smoker. everyone on a benefit is not a criminal. the majority of people on a benefit are there because of circumstances (physical, from birth, accidents, mental health, illness, loss of job, bad luck/circumstance) and most want the very best for their children they can give them.
Even the recent statistics show only the minority of people on benefits were committing and fraud of the system and yet we keep hearing it by implication, all people on benefits are smoking, drinking and treating their children badly.
Mr. Hotchin cannot support his family on $1000 per week, yet fingers are pointed at those trying to do so for less than $250 per week.
As for insulation, at least National has paid for 100 Te Ratana homes to get repaired and insulated. Found the money in December, a month before the visit to Te Ratana. Less than amonth if you consider the holiday in between.