. With this speech Lyndon B. Johnson began his quest to expand Franklin D. Roosevelt New Deal. During his presidency, Johnson gave us:1. Medicare - (Medical care for the elderly)
2. Medicaid - (Medical care for the impoverished)
3. Federal Aid to Elementary and Secondary Schools
4. The National Endowment of the Arts
5. Liberal Immigration Law
After President Lyndon B. Johnson signed these bills they proved to be much more expensive than originally estimated. Johnson then was also in the middle of the war in Vietnam which he was escalating.
Today President Obama is attempting another expansion of the New Deal with the passage of a new health care bill and as with President Johnson he is in the middle of a war, which he is about to expand. There is one big difference though, Johnson's work was done on the heals of a President Kennedy tax cut, which was expanding the economy. President Obama is attempting to expand government programs while in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the great depression. Whether President Obama will be able to bring us to the realization of Johnson's great society is still at question. What is not at question is that Johnson's vision is still a driving force in this country and the people of America have some hard choices to make.
Joseph Conigliaro
No comments:
Post a Comment