William C. Bailey Quotes
We're creating an attitude that disaster relief is an entitlement program like Medicare of Social Security ....
William C. Bailey, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Quoted in New York Times, July 24, 1988
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Denmark’s welfare, unemployment, and social security benefits were among the best in the world. Some immigrants would come to Denmark just for the benefit structure. This quotation is a Danish version of the statement by Senator Dianne Feinstein {601303}.
What makes this a noteworthy political quotation is that when he made the statement, his party had lurched to the radical right and almost no one else in the Republican party would publicly say that the Federal Government had any legitimate role that involved social services, food distribution, welfare or health care. Also the Republican Presidential candidate the day before had been discovered writing off the poorest 43 percent of the country. Heller however, was up for reelection in a state what was hit much harder than most in the Great Recession and without Federal Assistance many state residents would be in terrible circumstances and Heller would not fare well in the election if he took the then required Republican ideology. Also, Heller came from a blue collar family and had a much different outlook than most Republicans of that particular time.
Social Security was part of FDR’s New Deal legislation. It was passed in the middle of the Great Depression in 1936. By the end of the 20th century many people had forgotten or never learned that Social Security was a government social program. It provided relieve for two of the biggest social problems—old age retirement and disability. Most people have no idea that they had disability insurance covered by Social Security throughout their working lives unless they happened to be disabled. The price of a comparable private disability plan would be substantial, yet it is a benefit that most people have and few know it.
