Prior to the great New Orleans flood, the Democratic Party was moribund and on the verge of extinction. The GOP was on the ascendancy, the economy was being fueled by debt and speculation. But, the piper hadn’t come to collect his due yet. The business of America was business. The reforms of Teddy Roosevelt seemed quaint; almost unnecessary. The unfettered free market would work its magic – everywhere.
Then the great floods of New Orleans hit. A city was devastated. The free market couldn’t rescue the city, or deal with the human dimension of the immediate aftermath. Black folks from New Orleans were shuttled out into atrocious refugee camps and temporary housing in rural parts of Louisiana. Conditions were inhumane. The magic of the free market was unable to help these people. The republican president asked a compliant media to keep the human disaster and (lack) of relief efforts hush-hush, until after the election.
The year was 1927.
The president was Herbert Hover. That was the year the levees broke in New Orleans. It was the tail end of the roaring 20s, a period of economic growth fueled by debt and speculation. That was the year of a paradigm shift, and the ascendancy of the Democratic Party, and the demise of the GOP.
Soon after the floods, a radical populist politician in Louisiana – Huey P. Long – took the reigns of power. In pre-1928 Louisiana, corporations wrote the laws, bought legislators to do their bidding, and threw around bribe money like it was Saturday afternoon at the horse track.
Instituting a progressive income tax, implementing massive public works projects to rebuild Louisiana and the City of New Orleans, and redistributing wealth by massively investing in education and infrastructure. Long taxed Oil Company profits and used the revenue to pay for free text books for Louisiana school children. When the oil companies balked at paying their taxes, Long ordered the Louisiana National Guard to occupy the oil fields of the Delta. Unfettered lassaize faire capitalism had run its course, and Huey Long intended to reign in the Robber Barons.
Democratic politicians, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, viewed Long with alarm. Trepidation. This radical paradigm shift seemed subversive; almost dangerous. But, within a couple short years, the republican malfeasance with regard to the 1927 floods, and the economic collapse due to debt and speculation, made the GOP radioactive. For the first time in history, African-Americans abandoned the GOP in support of populist Democratic policies and politicians. Long certainly was no Saint. A ruthless politicians, who sought to consolidate his power, nonetheless his radical reforms (in watered-down form) became the basis and patron saint of FDR’s New Deal.
The New Deal passed. America ultimately prospered and got rich. A large middle class was built.
Has Bush-ononmics and the unfettered lassaize faire capitalism theories of the 1980s to today run their course? Was the New Orleans flood of 2005 a harbinger and metaphor for a paradigm shift? Who knows. I found it interesting to note some of the parallels between the late 1920s, and today. Hat tip to Greg Palast’s book, for historical context and review.
Then the great floods of New Orleans hit. A city was devastated. The free market couldn’t rescue the city, or deal with the human dimension of the immediate aftermath. Black folks from New Orleans were shuttled out into atrocious refugee camps and temporary housing in rural parts of Louisiana. Conditions were inhumane. The magic of the free market was unable to help these people. The republican president asked a compliant media to keep the human disaster and (lack) of relief efforts hush-hush, until after the election.
The year was 1927.
The president was Herbert Hover. That was the year the levees broke in New Orleans. It was the tail end of the roaring 20s, a period of economic growth fueled by debt and speculation. That was the year of a paradigm shift, and the ascendancy of the Democratic Party, and the demise of the GOP.
Soon after the floods, a radical populist politician in Louisiana – Huey P. Long – took the reigns of power. In pre-1928 Louisiana, corporations wrote the laws, bought legislators to do their bidding, and threw around bribe money like it was Saturday afternoon at the horse track.
Instituting a progressive income tax, implementing massive public works projects to rebuild Louisiana and the City of New Orleans, and redistributing wealth by massively investing in education and infrastructure. Long taxed Oil Company profits and used the revenue to pay for free text books for Louisiana school children. When the oil companies balked at paying their taxes, Long ordered the Louisiana National Guard to occupy the oil fields of the Delta. Unfettered lassaize faire capitalism had run its course, and Huey Long intended to reign in the Robber Barons.
Democratic politicians, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, viewed Long with alarm. Trepidation. This radical paradigm shift seemed subversive; almost dangerous. But, within a couple short years, the republican malfeasance with regard to the 1927 floods, and the economic collapse due to debt and speculation, made the GOP radioactive. For the first time in history, African-Americans abandoned the GOP in support of populist Democratic policies and politicians. Long certainly was no Saint. A ruthless politicians, who sought to consolidate his power, nonetheless his radical reforms (in watered-down form) became the basis and patron saint of FDR’s New Deal.
The New Deal passed. America ultimately prospered and got rich. A large middle class was built.
Has Bush-ononmics and the unfettered lassaize faire capitalism theories of the 1980s to today run their course? Was the New Orleans flood of 2005 a harbinger and metaphor for a paradigm shift? Who knows. I found it interesting to note some of the parallels between the late 1920s, and today. Hat tip to Greg Palast’s book, for historical context and review.
closing is set! woohoo!
