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Quotational Therapy: Part 43 -- Huey P. Long, Socialist.

Huey P. Long, "Every Man A King" and "Share Our Wealth" Speeches-

Many of Louisiana's problems today are rooted in its long-term one-party rule. The notoriously corrupt Louisiana political machine has waned quite a bit over the past several decades, but it still lingers, particularly within New Orleans. We can look back to infamous Louisiana Governor (and Senator) Huey Long for insight into Louisiana's political culture:

Every Man A King-

It is not the difficulty of the problem which we have; it is the fact that the rich people of this country -- and by rich people I mean the super-rich -- will not allow us to solve the problems, or rather the one little problem that is afflicting this country, because in order to cure all of our woes it is necessary to scale down the big fortunes, that we may scatter the wealth to be shared by all of the people....

Every man a king, so there would be no such thing as a man or woman who did not have the necessities of life, who would not be dependent upon the whims and caprices and ipsi dixit of the financial martyrs for a living. What do we propose by this society? We propose to limit the wealth of big men in the country.

Read the entire February 23, 1934 "Every Man A King" speech here.

Share Our Wealth-

So in this land of God’s abundance we propose laws, viz.:

1. The fortunes of the multimillionaires and billionaires shall be reduced so that no one persons shall own more than a few million dollars to the person....

2. We propose to limit the amount any one man can earn in one year or inherit to $1 million to the person.

3. Now, by limiting the size of the fortunes and incomes of the big men, we will throw into the government Treasury the money and property from which we will care for the millions of people who have nothing; and with this money we ill provide a home and the comforts of home, with such common conveniences as radio and automobile, for every family in America, free of debt.

4. We guarantee food and clothing and employment for everyone who should work by shortening the hours of labor to thirty hours per week, maybe less, and to eleven months per year, maybe less. We would have the hours shortened just so much as would give work to everybody to produce enough for everybody; and if we wee to get them down to where they were too short, then we would lengthen them again. As long as all the people working can produce enough of automobiles, radios, homes, schools, and theatres for everyone to have that kind of comfort and convenience, then let us all have work to do and have that much of heaven on earth.

5. We would provide education at the expense of the states and the United States for every child, not only through grammar school and high school but through to a college and vocational education. We would simply extend the Louisiana plan to apply to colleges and all people. Yes, we would have to build thousands of more colleges and employ 100,000 more teachers; but we have materials, men, and women who are ready and available for the work. Why have the right to a college education depend upon whether the father or mother is so well-to-do as to send a boy or girl to college? We would give every child the right to education and a living at birth.

6. We would give a pension to all persons above sixty years of age in an amount sufficient to support them in comfortable circumstances, expecting those who earn $1,000 per year or who are worth $10,000.

7. Until we could straighten things out--and we can straighten things out in two months under our program--we would grant a moratorium on all debts which people owe that they cannot pay.

And now you have our program, none too big, none too little, but every man a king.

Read the entire March 7, 1935 "Share Our Wealth" speech here.

Karl Marx could hardly have imagined such an absurd "workers paradise." Unfortunately, that sense of "they" (rich people) are against "us" (citizens of Louisiana) still pervades society, to this day.

Huey Long was one of the mightiest forces in American politics in the 20th century. His legacy, thus, endures, 70 years hence. This legacy is the primary reason why Houston and Miami and Atlanta and other Southern cities have become bastions of commerce and culture and people, while New Orleans has been muddled in an anachronistic devotion to a fading culture, with lagging commerce and a shrinking population.

The race-based political machine of Louisiana must come to an end. It must. Or Louisiana will never recover.

Previous Quotational Therapy Session:

George W. Bush's 1st Inaugural Address.

The right quote can be therapeutic, so tune in to WILLisms.com for quotational therapy every Monday and Friday.

Posted by Will Franklin · 9 September 2005 12:29 PM

Comments

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at September 9, 2005 05:19 PM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at September 9, 2005 06:03 PM