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“The
Economic Bill of Rights”
from the State of the Union Address
January 11, 1945 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.
This Republic had its
beginning, and
grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain
inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free
press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches
and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.
As our nation has grown in size
and
stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political
rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of
happiness.
We have come to a clear realization of
the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic
security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” 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:
The
right to a useful and remunerative
job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The
right to earn enough to provide
adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The
right of every farmer to raise and
sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a
decent living;
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;
The
right of every family to a decent
home;
The
right to adequate medical care and
the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The
right to adequate protection from
the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
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.
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