Friday, April 02, 2010

Blog #28 - After the war is won, a 2nd new Bill of Rights...

As part of his State of the Union address on January 11, 1944, President Roosevelt presented the nation with a 2nd Bill of Rights, economic rights that the government would have to guarantee for all Americans once the laws were passed.  Take a look at the following video:



Some of the key passages are as follows:
"It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence...People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:
1. The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation (since only 2-3% of the nation are farmers and less than 20% are in industry, this would have to change if this BoR was implemented);

2. The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

3. The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living (since so few of us are farmers now, this might change);

4. The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

5. The right of every family to a decent home;

6. The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health (did we just achieve this last week?);

7. The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

8. The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world."


He listed 8 things that would bring economic security to our nation and hopefully to the rest of the world.  At the point that he gave this address in history, America was NOT planning on a Cold War with the Soviet Union or stockpiling tens of thousands of nuclear missiles or spending billions on a military budget every year.  None of the 46 years of futility vs. the Soviet Union was set in stone, nor the explosion and entrenchment of the military-industrial complex in our national economy like it is today. 

However, America was coming out of the war w/ its biggest national debt in its history (having borrowed $200 billion from the American people in war bonds - $170 billion held by U.S. taxpayers - and from American banks).  Congressmen were wary of spending huge amounts of money on peace time programs, especially for FDR, because his New Deal programs had had such a mixed track record of success and failure. 

The reason I bring this issue up is b/c I think that the country has spent the next 66 years (and may continue) to try to achieve his goals.  As we finish out the year, we'll return to these eight core principles and examine how we have failed and / or succeeded. 

Your questions to answer:
1. Out of the 8 new rights listed above, which of them do you believe have been addressed in some way or another since 1944?  Try to pick and explain at least 2 (if you choose #6, please try to do some research and not repeat misinformation that you might have heard on talk shows, i.e., it's going to save billions, death panels, it forces everyone to buy insurance, etc.) 

2. Which of these 8 rights should be the one that is addressed or fixed by our Congress / President?  Why? 

3. Which one of these seems the least likely to be enforceable / possible to make an economic right?  Why?

200 words minimum.  Due Monday, April 12. 
Have a great spring break. 

Here's Glenn Beck's take on FDR's 2nd Bill of Rights. 




Further reading:
To view an article entitled: "FDR's 2nd Bill of Rights and Why We Need It Now" click here.
A response to this book from Forbes magazine who say that only one is quite enough. click here.
Here's an analysis of how the 2nd Bill is going so far: Click here.
An article about how the 2nd BoR violates the Constitution, click here.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Allison Levine 3rd hour
1. Of the 8 rights listed, I believe that ‘the right to a good education’ (number 8) has been addressed since 1944 when President Bush brought in the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. This will allow for a better education for kids. ‘The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation’ (number 2) has also been brought up with the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. With minimum wage, it allows a person to earn enough money to provide themselves with food and clothing.
2. I think that ‘the right of every family to a decent home’ (number 5) should be addressed. With unemployment and home foreclosure rates increasing, people are losing their homes and aren’t able to afford to pay for a new home/apartment. More and more people are becoming homeless and we need to bring up this issue in Congress so they will find a way to give people shelter instead of them living on the streets.
3. I think that ‘the right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living’ (number 3) is least likely to become an economic right because our country is very industrial-based and not enough people in the country are farmers and it doesn’t seem to appear to be a major priority.

Drew S. said...

To be completely honest with you, I don’t think we achieved any of these rights in FDR’s Second Bill of Rights speech. Were closer to having health care for everyone, but fact is not everyone is going to get it yet and it still going to cost you money out of pocket. So in my opinion, we have not reached any of FDR’s Second Bill of Rights goals.

Well I think all of them need to be addressed, but the one I think is most important at this moment is the Right to a Job. I think everybody should have the right to a decent job. I think all of them are important that FDR points out and outlines in his Second Bill of Rights Speech, but I think the job one is very important as so many people are either out of work or underemployed.

Probably the right for every person to have a job would be the hardest to make possible, but I think it’s still possible to make sure everybody has a job and a place to call home, and health care no matter what, and just in general have an enjoyable and good life for everyone. I think everybody deserves something as long as they contribute to the greater good of society.

Implementing even just the right to a good job and access to health care for everybody, would dramatically improve this country as a whole, and would lay the ground work for the rest of FDR’s Second Bill of Rights and more as everybody realizes how great they are.

Drew S.

Sarah Stempien said...

Sarah Stempien
2nd Hour History

1.I believe that the right to good education has been addressed since 1944. Most people were not getting any education at all because of race or the positioning in each class. This right has been addressed because a lot of people were unemployed because they didn’t have the right education they needed to do the job. There are programs now that help people that live in poverty get an education that is affordable to them.
Health care has been addressed just recently. People were not getting any healthcare insurance because they couldn’t afford it. Now that the healthcare bill has been passed about 95% of Americans will be insured. It also prevents denial of medical care to people in need.

2.The right of every family to have a descent home should be addressed because everyone should have at least some form of shelter. If that person or family were to have a good job and earn a living then they should have the right to have a descent home that they want and can afford.

3.The right that I think is least enforceable would have to be the right of protection of accidents, fear of old age, and sickness. These things can be prevented but sometimes we can only do so much to help stop sickness or stopping the fear of old age. The government can help by making the environment safer for the good of the people and help prevent these things from happening.

Anonymous said...

Jim Stevens
3rd

1. I think number 4- the right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad has been addressed since 1944 because it is illegal for a business to have a monopoly and control an entire industry. Also i think number 8 the right to a good education has been addressed since 1944 because the government has been stressing school education on families and students and also jobs are requiring more of an education now than they used to.

2. I think the right to a good education should be forced because education is one of the most important things somebody can half if helps you get jobs and educates you on life and how to act.

3. I think the right of every family is least enforceable because there are so many families in this country who do not have even a decent place to live let alone a home. A lot of times it is hard to tell if a family has a decent home it is also hard to enforce that every single family in the country has a decent home.

Anonymous said...

Jim Weitzel
Blog #28
I think that so far we have achieved the right for economic security for the old, sick, accidents and unemployment. So far our nation has social security for people who retire. They will get checks from the government to help support them in their old age. The unemployed will receive checks for 6 months that can help them purchase the bare necessities needed for life. If you get sick you can file for disability checks, and the government will supplement you with more money. Granted the checks are not too much to run your life off of. But the checks can really help in times of desperate need. Another right that has been fulfilled is the right to a good education. Federally the law requires that students attend elementary school all the way up to high school or when you become 16 years of age. So if a child wants to have an education all he or she has to do is attend school, and not skip it. I think that a right that needs to be addressed by the government is the right to adequate food and shelter. There is nothing worse than starving to death on the freezing cold streets. I do not think that an enforceable right is the right for everyone to have a job. Some people are rejected from jobs because they raise too much trouble. So unless it was like a prison job, there is no way you can keep freedom if you force employers to hire a bad worker.

Anonymous said...

Ellie Toth
2nd hour
1. Number 8 on the and bill of rights address has been issued since 1944. The right to a good education. Our country has provided us with millions of schools for children and adults. Public schools and private schools all over. However, in the past couple years, public schools have suffered economically. Public schools are paid for through taxes and have recently struggled financially. Of course schools are still providing great education through this financial struggle. Another one addressed since 1944 is number 7, the right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment. Since 1944, our country has established insurance for life, cars, and homes and has saved us from a lot of financial struggles. However, recently unemployment has been very high and President Obama and Congress has been trying everything to fix it. The Health Care bill has just been passed through Congress and will hopefully help those in need and do not have jobs at the moment.
2. Number 5, the right of every family to a decent home needs to be fixed by President Obama and Congress. A good amount of people in the US are successful and have very good homes to live in. As well, a good amount of people do not. Trying to fix unemployment and the economy is a good step to providing better homes, but there are more homeless people in this country than we tend to notice, especially here in Birmingham, Mi. In a larger city, such as Chicago or New York, you see about 2-3 homeless people on every block. Whereas in Michigan you don't and that tends to make the homeless situation unnoticeable for people like us. Congress has a good start on providing Health Care and trying to reduce unemployment, but we need to do a lot more for the homeless.
3. Number 1, the right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation is the least likely to be possible to make an economic right. This is almost no help to our country today because most people are not farmers anymore and only little work in the industries. Also, this right basically starts moving our country away from capitalism and closer to socialism in the sense that the government is basically choosing the jobs we receive and the success we get from them. This right is very unlikely to be possible to make an economic right.

Anonymous said...

Austin Rovinski
2nd hour
4/12/10

1. I believe that number eight, a right to a good education, has definitely been improved upon since 1944. First of all, schools have been legally desegregated by race, so now there is no barrier that keeps any race from going to the school of their choice. Second, there have been many technological advancements that improve a teacher’s ability to help students understand material, such as the Promethean boards, overheads, videos, internet resources, etc. Another point that I believe has been improved upon since the speech is number five, because the GI bill passed shortly after the end of the war helped guarantee housing and loans for that housing.
2. I believe that number eight (education) is the most important to improve on. As Groves students, we are fortunate to have many helpful and awesome teachers like Mr. Wickersham, but many schools lack the supplies, funding, and good teachers to help their students. Almost all schools also lack a form of incentive to keep students working hard, so perhaps more scholarships to people who can’t afford college or something similar could be helpful.
3. I think that both number one and number eight aren’t very enforceable. Jobs under number one are hard to create. The government could make new projects like what happened in the New Deal, but I believe that would just raise an issue of immigrants taking up those jobs and not native-born Americans. The government could also make more incentives for businesses, but that has very unpredictable results and the incentives could just be turned into higher salaries for the executives. Good health is also intrinsically unenforceable because you can’t control people’s health; some people are genetically less healthy than others and require more care than others. This, however, means that the system is unequal by nature and therefore would never have positive results due to so much controversy.

Anonymous said...

Dustin Oakwood
3rd Hour
1) Of all eight rights listed I believe that only two of them there can be considered addressed. Those two rights are: 3. the right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living, and 8. the right to a good education. Although our farming and agriculture in America is small I believe that they're getting the benefits of this right. Farmers are making enough to support their families, maybe not decently but still adequately. I believe that the people’s right to a good education has been addressed and fulfilled as well. At least around here I believe.
2) I believe that most of the rights listed here still need to be addressed completely. There are two rights here that stick out to me that need to be addressed immediately and they are 2. The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation; and 5. The right of every family to a decent home. These are the bare necessities. Food and shelter are essential for survival; I believe that these need to be addressed as soon as possible. Just take a look at Detroit.
3) 4. The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad. There’s always going to be a bigger fish. I feel that we can work on this right and enforce it; although, there will still be repression of freedom. Like with monopolies (i.e. Standard Oil)

Anonymous said...

1. I think since 1944 the right to earn enough to provide adequate food, clothing and recreation along with the right to a good education have both been addressed. Although minimum wage was established before 1944, the value and the amount of money minimum wage pays fluctuates according to the economic state of the country and the needs of the people. The right to education is recognized as a human right by the United Nations, so basic education is a must, and higher levels of education can be rewarded by good academics, along with tuition.
2. I think that the right of every family to have a decent home should be addressed by our government, because the amount of people who have lost their homes in the past couple years has been incredibly high, and I think we should try to help stop this for the future.
3. The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad, seems highly unlikely in this day and age, because large chains or franchises are so powerful. In some cities and areas small independent stores are able to survive, but a lot of the time large companies will overpower those small stores, sometimes without even giving them a chance.
Elyse Dumas - 3rd hour

Anonymous said...

Elizabeth Bondarenko
2nd hour

1. Some of the 8 new rights from a second Bill of Rights I believe have been addressed since 1944. For example, the 6th: “The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health.” As I know, not so long ago, about two or three weeks ago, there was a new government decision in this area about health. Now those people in America, who cannot have insurance, can get help in hospitals and incurrence companies will pay for them.
Another example is the 7th right. “The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment.” Now life for old people in America, who do not work anymore, is very good. They get enough of money and in case if they need some sort of help, they can get it easy. And I can say for sour that live of old people in America is definitely much more better than life of the same age people in Russia.
Also I think that the 8th right have been addressed too: “The right to a good education.” Because right now mostly everyone in American can get as good education as they want. A defense is only in how hard one or another learns. And, for example, some colleges even pay for education of the best students.
2. I think that the 4th right should be the one that is addressed or fixed by our Congress or President: “The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad.” Because nowadays a lot of people work in area of business, large and small, and this life would be very helpful for them and protect a lot of companies, save a lot of money. It is especially important now, during the economic crisis.

3. I think that least likely to be enforceable and possible to make an economic right is the 2nd: “The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation.” And the reason is only one word: “adequate,” because who have right to decide what the adequate food and clothing and recreation are? Of course, government does it. But the problem is that everyone have different opinion about what is adequate and what is not.

Anonymous said...

Allie Rubin
3rd hour

Out of the eight new rights, several have been addressed in some way since 1944. One of these is the right to a good education. Since 1944, a lot has been done to improve education in the United States. One major improvement is more diversity in the schools. In the past, black and white students attended separate schools. Many schools for black students were considered inadequate compared to those for white students; however allowing students of all races to attend the same school greatly improved the education of the students. Another right that has been vastly improved since 1944 is the right of adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment. Since this time, programs such as medicare and welfare have been developed to help the elderly and people who are unemployed.

One right that should be addressed by the president/congress is the right to a decent home. Many people are suffering from the country's economic down turn and have been forced to foreclose their homes. There are many homeless people living in the country, and it is important for people to be able to live in a building, not in the streets.

It is extremely difficult to address this right. There is such a large amount of homeless people in the country that it would be incredibly challenging to fund the development of adequate shelter for these people.

Anonymous said...

Lea Martin
3rd hour

1) 2. The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The bill of rights has definitely addressed this in one way or another. Not everyone may have enough money but even if they don’t make it there are options. For example there are food kitchens where these people can get food for free and there are also cloth spends to get cloths from. This might not be the result what people wished was the result of this part of the Bill of rights but it’s a start and its definitely better then people starving or not having any cloth to wear.

5. The right of every family to a decent home;
This right has also been addressed throughout the years. Families that don’t make enough money to provide themselves a decent home the government helps them or the community they live in. There are also community houses where a couple of families live together in decent homes. And the families who have enough money to provide it without help sometimes help the ones in need.

8. The right to a good education
This right has been addressed a lot. The government tries to make it possible for everyone to attend a school and get a good education. There are different schools so everyone has a chance even people who dropped out or got suspended still have chances to get education. Or adults who didn’t get to go or finish school can go back and get good education.


2) 6. The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health
This one is the one America is trying to address and fix. But not everyone is happy about the changes and the fixing attempts. Just this year the President tried to change it to the better for the people in the country but nothing really changed for the better yet.

3) 3. The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living
This one seems to be the least likely to make an economic right because there aren’t much farmers left and they might sell their crops for too much so the people want to buy it cheaper and buy it from different countries.

Hannah Grossman said...

1. I believe that a lot of these 8 rules have been addressed. The 2 that I think have been addressed a lot would have to be to have a good education. There has been much talk about this law President Bush came up with the "No Child left Behind Act" which affects what students are taught, the tests they take, the training of their teachers and the way money is spent on education. Also the right to achieve adequate medical care, which was just achieved very recently with the health care bill being passed although not many people wanted it to be because there is going to be higher costs. But now this bill ensures that everyone has adequate health insurance and health care.

2. Out of the 8 rights I think the one that should be addressed is number 5, the right of every family to a decent home. There are so many families that are homeless or living in a home that is not safe to be living in. I think this really needs to be addressed because to have a family you need to have a decent home to raise them in, no family should be living on the streets or living in a home that is not in good condition.

3. The one that I think is unenforceable would probably be number 4, The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad. This is because there is always going to be competition and unfairness and so I feel as though it would be hard to enforce.

Hannah Grossman

Anonymous said...

Michele Snyder
3rd hour History B
Wickersham
1. Out of the eight rights listed the two that I believe have addressed in some way since 1944 is number three, and number eight. I believe that number three, the right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living has been addressed because it has resulted in a distortion to our agriculture, energy, and food policy. I also believe number eight, the right to a good education because we have taken baby steps in the correct direction to improve this and expand public health, but we still have a lot that we can improve on.

2. Out of the eight rights listed the one that I believe should be addressed by congress/president is number six, the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health. This is because so many people need health care and have a hard time receiving it, especially those without jobs.

3. Out of the eight rights listed the one that I believe is least likely to be addressed by congress/president is number one, the right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation. I believe this because this is the one with the least amount of progress, and because many people are losing jobs, and money.

Anonymous said...

Stefanie Kueck
4 -11-10
Mr. Wickersham
I think that in the case of having these 8 new rights listed above only 2 of them actually have been dealt with on a bases that I can say I have seen a change in. That would have to be number 8 the right to a good education. I believe that there is a change in this right because now you have to legally go to school until you are 16. In which years back you could drop out whenever to make more money to support your family. Also, number 7 the right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment, the way that this has been addressed is by the fact that you now can get social security. You can obtain social security through your work while a portion of your salary is taken out to gear towards your retirement fund. I believe one of the rights that should be fixed by congress/ president should be numbers 2. Number 2 talks about the right to earn enough money to provide for your adequate food and clothing. I think this because clothing and food is necessity that every person needs to live. I think that least likely right to be enforceable / possible to make an economic right would have to be Number 5.The right to a decent house for every family. How can the government really justify the true criteria of a home that every person supposedly should have the goal of having no matter your race, religion, or economic statues. FDR Once believed that every man should have the 2nd Bill of Rights.

Anonymous said...

1.Of the eight rights listed above, I believe number five has been addressed since 1944, in the way that the government created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create low interest mortgage homes for low income Americans. Also number eight, the right to good education. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a federal legislation based on the belief that setting high standards can improve individual outcomes in education. This Act requires that states develop assessments of basic skills for certain grades, if they want federal funding.
2.Number two should be fixed because one should only earn enough for food and clothing; recreation is a luxury not a necessity. Don’t give the people money, because they could waste it on recreational purposes not food and clothing, give them food stamps. Also unemployment benefits and human resource departments need to adjust to the cost of living since 2010.
3.Number six is least likely to achieve its goal because there is not enough medical staff to treat the influx of people who are in need of medical care. The wait to receive medical treatment will enrage people and upset the system. The salary of medical staff will decrease and be set by the government, doctors and medical staff will not be making as much money and will not be satisfied with their salary and quit,(possibly).

Heather Robinson
2nd hr.

Anonymous said...

Blake Jackson
3rd Hour
1. The fourth right that promises business men protection from all unfair competition and monopolies has been brought up very frequently. Many companies complain or look to the government for help over what they feel to be unfair competition. Causing the government to destroy many monopolies to make the market fair for not only other businesses but consumers as well. Also several years back the right to a good education was greatly disputed with many schools opening their districts to people who live outside of their normal. Along with the no child left behind program being instituted to help people achieve an education. Many other laws have been instated such as a higher drop out age and classes being spoken in other languages.
2. I feel like the fifth right is one that should be addressed after the rise in homeless Americans and those on welfare and government support. Many are in desperate need of shelter and I feel like this is the most important of all the rights mentioned.
3. I feel like number two would be very tough to enforce. While yes we do have minimum wage that should be able to provide for most of the things mentioned, it would be hard to determine what an adequate amount would be. There would be much debate over what was considered enough to provide these things for a family.

Anonymous said...

Jan Thon
3rd hour


1. I think the right of equal education has been addressed in the last decades a lot. Since the United States had and still have a lot of education issues in urban areas. The government spent a lot of money to give new technology to schools and to prepare the students better for the future. I think these reforms were necessary because a lot of kids in big cities such as Detroit need a better education to compete with kids who go to schools like Groves, and since it is included in the 2nd bill of rights every kid, no matter where it lives should be able to earn a college scholarship if it shows the right effort.
The second right that has been addressed is the seventh point, the adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment. Programs such as medicare help older people and support them so they may live the lifestyle they deserve after a life of work for the American economy.

2. The right of every family to a decent home, this right should be fixed or the government should at least pay more attention to it. Again, in a lot of big cities kids and their families have to live under circumstances that are not considered good for a child. Since these kids will be part of the future society we should care more about the kids from the so called “ghettos” and help them to find the right path for their future so they can provide food and money for a family.

3. I think the right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad, is the right that is most likely to be an economic law, since we already have global trade and in a lot of countries the government control the market in a way so there is no monopolies.

Eli Suris said...

Eli Suris
4/12/10
1. The points on this New Bill of Rights that I believe have been addressed since their establishments are numbers two, five, and eight. I chose number two because not only are all Americans given the opportunity to get good enough jobs to afford adequate food, clothing, and recreation, but those who don’t have jobs with high enough wages can still get the essentials through welfare checks, food stamps, and charities. Number five has been addressed because in the decades following WWII the suburban community was born and quickly grew into an incredibly common and nice living area. I’m not saying that all suburbs have nice home, rather I’m saying that most meet the standard for adequacy in terms of shelter and relative comfort. Also, it has been addressed because all Americans have access to jobs that can provide the funds to buy a nice home. Number eight has been addressed because, like numbers two and five, all Americans have access to obtaining jobs that pay high enough for an adequate to excellent education for their children.
2. Number seven should definitely be adequately addressed because it is important for our government and our country to support those who can’t support themselves, such as the elderly, the severely ill, the crippled, and the unemployed, because, despite their inability to care for themselves, they are American citizens who have paid taxes (hopefully) and cared for their country throughout their healthy and/or stable chapter of their lives.
3. Number six seems the most possible to make an economic right because that right is already I affect/in the process of improvement.

Anonymous said...

Michael Rondello
2nd Hour

I think the one right FDR mentioned in his bill of rights that everyone is thinking about now is the right to adequate medical care. Everyone has seen or heard on the news about President Obama’s plan to reform healthcare. The politicians in Washington, D.C. have decided that there needs to be some sort of reform in the way the government provides healthcare for the citizens of the United States. Since the new healthcare system has been passed, I think this is one right that has been talked about the most around this time. I think all of the rights that need to be fixed by the government because they are not specific enough. If I cannot find a job to get myself a “decent” home, then can I just go to the government and say that that is breaking one of the rights that FDR clearly stated in his second bill of rights? That isn’t how capitalism works because the government does not have that power. Like Glenn Beck said, what is adequate or decent mean? I think the rights need to be much more specific. Lastly, because the number of homeless people is so high, I think that the right to a decent home is the least likely to be enforced by the government.

Anonymous said...

Brad Benghiat 2nd Hour
One of the eight things that I think has been addressed since 1944 is number 2: The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation. In the past years, unemployment has been moving up and down, but I believe the government has done what it can to allow everyone to get a job and be able to provide for themselves and/or their families. I also believe that nobody is denied this right, its just that people choose not to set their lives in the right direction and they end up without the money to provide for themselves. Number eight has also been addressed and enforced over the years. This is the right to a good education. In past years, the government has made a good attempt to ensure that every child in the united states is provided with a sufficient education. This was seen in George Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” act.
I believe number 6, The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health, is one that should be addressed by our congress/president. This is because this has been a highly debated and controversial issue throughout past years and good health is without doubt just as important, if not more important, than any other aspect of our lives.
Finally, I think that number 4, The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad, is one that is least likely to be enforceable/possible to make an economic right. This is because, although we have seemed to avoid monopolies pretty well, unfair competition is something that will always be present in the business world.

Anonymous said...

Out of the 8 new rights that I think have been addressed the most in the United States since WWII are “The right of every family to a decent home”, and “The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment”. When I hear decent home I don’t think that FDR meant a large, extravagant house. Rather, he was saying that houses shouldn’t be built by the cheapest means possible, that it should be built well and safely. The bill protects us from: houses that are built to last years, companies ripping-off families and selling them bad houses for an extremely high amount, and provides a standard for how houses should be made. In the past few decades many programs have been created by the government to improve housing, and buildings in general, standards. The DOE makes sure that the way buildings receive power is safe, and all electrical outlets are safe, and there are many more programs that keep water clean, yards safe, and the walls sturdy. The economic fear of old age has been addressed, of course, by Medicare, which is a social healthcare program for people over the age of 65, and made in 1965. Protection from the unemployment is provided to American citizens every day though welfare, which in 1996 (due to the Welfare Reform Act) was a finite, better regulated than the 1930’s welfare, and depending on state have requirements for the financial support. Like in Michigan people have to be in a job searching program for at least a month before getting a check, this helps prevent ppl from trying to rip off welfare system.
mark gastineau 2nd hour

Anonymous said...

1. One right in FDR’s second bill of rights that has been addressed is number two, “The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation”. I think that this has been achieved with minimum wage. Even though it began in 1936, it has gone up over the years in order for people to earn enough to provide for things as mentioned in FDR’s Bill of Rights. The other right that I think has been addressed is number eight, “The right to a good education”. I think this one has been addressed because it is required by law to go to school until you are eighteen, which is a senior in high school. Also, a lot of tax money goes into funding the schools in order to provide for a good education.
2. Number five, “the right for every family to have a decent home” should be looked over by congress because there are many people in our country that either, have no home or are in a home that is in horrible condition that the owner cannot afford to fix or maintain.
3. I think that number five, “the right for every family to have a decent home” is also the least likely to be enforced because of the amount of homeless people living in the US, unemployment being so high and the national debt so large. All those reasons make it seem very unlikely.

Willie Beattie
2nd Hour

Anonymous said...

alex wong 2nd hour

For number one the seventh right has been addressed with social security and number eight kids are required to have 13 years in school and college is open to everyone. For number two right seven should be the one addressed by the government because without that elderly people will not be able to pay for health care and home need as well as other medical needs. If the government does so this as in continue social security than the older people being the people eligible will not need to fear of losing there homes and becoming sick and not being able to pay to become better. National health care is not the answer. For number three the third right would be hard to enforce because you cannot control the weather and if you guarantee the right for farmers to raise and then sell their crops then they can hold you responsible for your hardship when you have a hard growing season. Another problem could occur when people don�t want to buy the crops he is growing and then all of your hard works will g to waste and your crops and labor were wasted unless the farmer could find a way to make them viable.

Anonymous said...

On January 11, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established the United States with a
2nd Bill of Rights, economic rights that the government would have to guarantee for all
Americans once the laws were passed. Among the rights were, one the right to a useful and
remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation.Two, the right to
earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation.Three, the right of every
farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent
living.Four, the right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of
freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad.Five, the right
of every family to a decent home.Six, the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to
achieve and enjoy good health.Seven the right to adequate protection from the economic fears of
old age, sickness, accident,and unemployment.Eight, the right to a good education.These eight
rights were to provide security and prosperity among the whole nation overseeing race, religion,
station, and creed.Determining a plan for peace and the American standard of living higher than
ever before was in mind as well but unfortunatly not all eight rights could be sufficient.

Since 1994, I believe some have been addressed in either one way or another. For example, number
sixths right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health
has recently been addressed in a health reform by are former president Barack obama.
According to, www. whitehouse.gov,it is suppose make health care more affordable, make health
insurers more accountable, expand health coverage to all Americans, and make the health system
sustainable,stabilizing family budgets, the Federal budget, and the economy. By providing the
largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for tens of
millions of families and small business owners who are priced out of coverage today. This will
help 32 million Americans afford health care who do not get it today – and makes coverage more
affordable for many more.Under the plan, 95% of Americans will be insured so most citizens will
get adequate medical care and will enable most to recieve good health coverage.The eigth right
well has been addressed and represented by the No Child left behind act established in 2001 by
George W. bush, offers children to have a better education but has its flaws as well.
Number 5, should be addressed because their are so many families with undescent homes or none.
Government support can only help so many and for a little amount of time.After that those
individuals will need shelter.Number seven, the right to adequate protection from the economic
fears of old age, sickness, accident,and unemployment, seems like it is going to be lease
occurable to become a right.You cant stop someone from ageing its just a natural process but
the government can make sure that you age healthier through taking care of the environment
and providing you with a healthy medical plan.People are going to get laid off everyday, its
just how the economy operates.Sickness is a natural thing but the government does help find
cures for different cases.

Kierra W.

Anonymous said...

Griffin Harms
3rd Hour
1.) I know that right #6 has been addressed just recently in this healthcare reform. What this reform is attempting to do is to make health insurance more affordable by providing one of the largest middle-class tax cuts in history. Also, right #8 has been addressed by president Bush in 2001 with the "No Child Left Behind" Act.
2.) I believe that right #5 should be addressed or fixed by our congress because in our current economy, the housing market is bad and many people's homes are being foreclosed on.
3.) I believe that right #2 would be difficult to address because adequate food, clothing, and recreation is not always met and it is something that is determined by the money you make.

Anonymous said...

Jared Monchnik
2nd hour
1. I believe the 8th right has been addressed in some way or another since 1944. The 8th right is the right to a good education. This has been brought up with president Bush’s “no child left behind” act. In this act it guarantees every student the right to an education, no matter how rich or poor. Also the 5th right, which is the right of every family to a decent home, has been addressed, with the concern of the homeless and unemployed people living on the streets.
2. The 7th right should be fixed. The 7th right states everyman has the right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment. As many around the nation see the economic turmoil has ruined and destroyed people’s lives as they can’t support themselves. Which is why congress needs to fix this as the unemployment rate is through the roofs right now.
3. I feel that the 6th right is most likely the least likely to be fixed any time soon. The 6th right is the right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health. And although I know little about the whole debate and such, it seems that there may not be a resolution as to the whole and entirety of the problem.

Anonymous said...

1. “The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation” has been addressed since 1944. The proposal for minimum wage was created in spite of this in 1944, and is still being practiced today. The amount as changed drastically since then, depending on the value of the dollar, fluctuating over the years. Another law that is still being addressed is “The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment” This right is responsible for social security benefits; employment-based pension/retirement pensions, disability pensions, and Medicare. This was a well thought out solution for this problem, so it is still exercised today.

2. “The right of every family to a decent home” should be addressed because it has been neglected. Homelessness has not been worked out as much as it could be. If there was a plan so they a person couldn’t get to that point, I think it could possibly decreased a little. Maybe if a person had to put a small percentage of their income a month or year in a saving account, that they wouldn’t able to spend unless they had less than a certain amount of money, they would have something to fall back on. I know it is more complicated than that, but is just an idea.


3. This right would also be extremely hard to change. Because of the amount of homeless people, it would be almost impossible to change this. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.

p.s.- Your dog is so cute!!!

Randi

Anonymous said...

Two of these eight rights listed have been addressed very well since 1944. The first is the right to earn enough to provide adequate food, clothing and recreation. For example, there are minimum wage laws provided, which increases the standard living of workers and reduces poverty. FDR said, “We all have the right to a useful and remunerative job.” A sufficient amount of nutritious food, free of contaminants and harmful additives, is essential for human well-being and the greater health of our society. No country can maintain stability if this basic need is not widely available. This right establishes security over opportunity and I believe we have been provided with these necessities. Another right that has been addressed well is the right of every family to a decent home. Safe, healthy, secure and affordable housing is a right, not a privilege. Most people have an adequate place to live, which provides the necessary energy sources for cooking, heating, cooling and lighting.
The right to a useful and remunerative job should be addressed the most today. The unemployment rate has shot up increasingly year by year. Nearly 30 million people that are jobless are so discouraged that they’ve stopped looking. Insecurity triggers fascism. Without a job, one cannot survive. We need the money for a sustainable home, food, clothing, bills, etc. The list goes on and on!
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness and accident seem the least likely to be enforceable. We do not need to stress on the economy becoming “old” or “sick” rather than worrying about hunger and starvation, homelessness, etc.

Norell

Anonymous said...

Out of the 8 rights I think 2 have only been fully and successfully been addressed. Number 7 has been addressed because we have unemployment pay for a certain amount of months until one can find another job. We also have social security and retirement pay. When people are sick or injured and need a leave of absence they still get paid because they can’t help their illness or pain. Also, number 8 has been addressed a great deal. Legally you must attend school whether it’s public or private until you are the age of 16 and then you can make the decision whether you want to keep succeeding and provide for your family when you get older or drop out and be unsuccessful. I think number 5 is something that cannot be enforceable or possible. A decent home is one with warmth, one that is weatherproof, and has reasonably modern facilities. Weatherproof is a reasonable thing, but some people don’t have enough money for payments. They still have to pay house payments, water bills, and other necessary things. As a modern facility like a toilet or shower is also reasonable, but some people can only afford the cheapest materials or facilities.


Sandra Toma

Anonymous said...

Alex "1337 |V|45+3r" Pisano
Third Hour
1. These two have partially been executed:
2. The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
This is evident through minimum wage laws across the U.S. For example, recently Michigan raised minimum wage to $7.40.
7. The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
These are evident through government programs like social security and welfare.
2. The one of these 8 rights that should be fixed by congress is 5. The right of every family to a decent home. I believe that every family deserves a good home so that children are raised properly and don’t have to deal with a largely limited space. Also, because these children are our future, they need to be taught that they should care for one another, and being cramped up in a small space causes more problems than it could ever solve.
3. The one economic right least likely to be implemented is 1. The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation. This would be hardest to implement because nowadays many people are white collar workers, working in cubicles or in offices.

Anonymous said...

Out of the 8 new rights that were listed I believe that number 5 and number 8 have been brought up in so way or another since 1944. Number 5 (the right of every family to a decent home) has been brought up numerous times because there is a big effort to keeping people off the streets, especially if there are young children involved. Number 8 (The right to a good education) has also been brought up in recent years and in years past with programs like no child left behind, we are trying to keep our country educated. I think the one that should be addressed by congress or the president would be number 2 (the right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation). It should be fixed because now minimum wage is nowhere near the amount of money needed to support a family of 3. Minimum wage might not even support one single person if they were only working one job. The one that I think that is the least likely to be enforced would be number 3(the rights of a farmer). Think this besides the fact that there aren’t nearly as many farmers as there used to be, but because a person selling their products could easily not be able to make a profit and not be able to live a nice life if they cannot make a decent living. (241 words)

Brandon V.