Leisure Class

Then
J. P. Morgan himself flatly told a Senate committee: "If you destroy the leisure class you destroy civilization."
(Ellis)

Now
Who Screwed the Middle Class?
Broken Unions, Broken Nation
Make Wall Street Pay
The Glass of Indignation

Stagnant Wages

Then
Senator James Couzens of Michigan:
"Notwithstanding the general assumption that wages were high, all available statistics show that during the years preceding the depression the increase in productivity per man was greater than the increase in wages. In other words, although the worker got more money, he produced still more goods. Somebody got the difference, and we all know who it was." (Ellis)

Now
Widening Gap Between Productivity and Wages
Low-Paying Jobs

Unemployed Don't Want to Work

Then
A Pennsylvania commission studied 31,159 workless men and then reported that the typical unemployed man was thirty-six years old, native born, physically fit and with a good previous work record. This finding contradicted Henry Ford's belief that the unemployed did not want to work. (Ellis)

Now
Unemployed Should "Get Off Their Backsides"

Saving Capitalism

Then
Robert La Follette Jr.:
We have reached the point where we must ascertain whether those who give lip service to our present system are willing to pay the price to save it. We must ascertain whether those who have the biggest stake in saving this system are willing to contribute to the government through graduated income and estate taxes a sufficient revenue to make it possible to carry on these collective expenditures until the war against the Depression is won.
(The Progressive, February 17, 1934)

Now
Congress Passes $858 Billion Tax-Cut Extension
Corporate Tax Revenues Nearing Historic Lows
Pawlenty: Bank of America Taxes too High

Farmers and Laborers

Then
The Minnesota Farmer-Laborer party rose in the early 1920's out of a popular tradition of radical politics in the state. It added urban laborers to the farmers on whom such earlier groups as the Populists and the Non-Partisan League had depended. (McElvaine)

Now
Farmers to Join Workers' Protests
Wisconsin Farmers To Join Protests
Wisconsin protests-now with farmers (and tractors)
Minnesota Union Members Rally

Teachers

Then
Elsa Ponselle:
A group got together and organized us. Everybody was heart and soul in the unions those days. Somebody said, "Why not a teachers' union?" And why not?
I'm really surprised at how many teachers joined the movement, especially the older ones. They marched. It gave the establishment a turn. (Terkel)

Now
Idaho Teachers Protest
Wisconsin Teachers Protest
Rhode Island Teachers Protest

Speculation in Stocks/Commodities

Then
It was not the speculators who were reviled in that fantastic time, but those who dared to criticize speculation. The Wall Street Journal reacted to one criticism in September 1929 by asking: "Why is it that any ignoramus can talk about Wall Street?"
(McElvaine)

Stock speculation provided a legal spirit of intoxication in a time when intoxicating spirits were prohibited by the Eighteenth Amendment. By the fall of 1929, those who were guiding the market were driving under the influence. A terrible crash, to be followed by unpleasant sobering experiences and an awful hangover were the likely results. (McElvaine)

Now
"Extraordinary Speculative Activity"
Will Federal Regulators Crack Down on Oil Speculation?
The Danger of Speculation
Increase Gas Prices From Speculation

Balancing Budget

Then
Only nonbelievers dared to point out that the business of business is a profit. Only the unwashed were impudent enough to declare that budget balancing and bookkeeping, however honest, are not necessarily equated with the welfare of the people. (Ellis)

Now
Why Budget Cuts Don't Bring Prosperity
GOP Budget Cuts Would Kill 700,000 Jobs
Republicans Draw Economists' Concern

Still More Blame

Then
from Dark Symphony by Melvin B. Tolson:

None in the Land can say
To us black men Today:
You smash stock markets with your coined blitzkriegs
And make a hundred million guinea pigs.
You counterfeit our Christianity,
And bring contempt upon Democracy.
(from Bontemps)

Now
Conservatives Seek to Shift Blame
Loans to Minorities Did Not Cause Housing Crisis
Conservatives Can't Escape Blame