Gray Davis Quotes
When people work, they send us a check. When they don't, we send them a check.
Gray Davis, California Governor (Democrat), Quoted in The Los Angeles Times, December 20, 1992
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This statement was a total reverse of his predecessor’s policy. Hoover stubbornly refused to consider any direct relief for workers on the philosophical ground that it would weaken their character, make them dependent, and provide benefits for the people who were not working so the motivation to work would be lessened. When FDR pronounced this on the radio, it dramatically reversed U. S. policy and gave many people hope that the government might do something about the depression rather than just wait out the business cycle.
He wanted to condition long term unemployment insurance payments on the recipient taking training courses or other means of improving his/her skills and becoming more employable. He was opposed on the left by those who observed that this was insurance; the working nothing from the government; the worker had paid for it when he/she was working. It was his and was not conditioned on government requirement. The right wing opposed the idea as they had always wanted the out of work people to have little or no other opportunity than to take the worst and lowest paying jobs in the society. They also pointed out that if training was to be provided, it would cost more and not less. But Gingrich and his supporters on this idea observed that there were many jobs available even with the high unemployment rate; the unemployed workers just did not have the skills to do these jobs. Train them and unemployment would go down. The investment in unemployment insurance and training would pay off many times over.
Although this was one of his comic routines, he claimed it was true.
This is one of the reasons that Denmark is referred to as a “Welfare State.”
In the midst of the depression:
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. is an American former attorney and politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and removed from office, the second state governor successfully recalled in U.S. history. Prior to serving as governor, Davis was chief of staff to Governor Jerry Brown (1975–81), a California State Assemblyman (1983–87), California State Controller (1987–95) and the 44th lieutenant governor of California (1995–99). Davis holds a B.A. in history from Stanford University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service as a captain in the Vietnam War.
