The Development of the American Social Welfare State from FDR to LBJ

Human Progress and American History, Book 1

By: Thomas F. Winterbottom

Narrated by: Stephen M. Ray Jr.

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

This audiobook is about the development of the American social welfare state, from FDR to LBJ, with particular emphasis on the ideas (social, political, and economic) that have formed the basis of America's social welfare state.

©2014 Thomas Francis Winterbottom (P)2017 Thomas Francis Winterbottom

If only America was more like Western Europe

The author does a fairly good job describing world events and domestic politics during each president's term, and how those things limited welfare policy initiatives. He suggests that the threat posed by the Soviet Union to our way of life was exaggerated, and this made it difficult for politicians to advance welfare policies without looking like communists. More broadly speaking, American individualism stands in the way of an expansion of the welfare state. It's a coherent thesis, even if you don't agree with it. But I was expecting a more thorough look at the numerous social programs that were created during that era: Jobs programs, SS (and all the amendments to expand it), Medicare, Manpower Development and Training Act, AFDC, Civil Rights Act, Community Action Programs, Economic Opportunity Act, Food Stamps, TANF, housing assistance programs, etc, etc. And what it is the evidence as to whether or not they have worked? And how could we make them better? I would have appreciated a comparison between federal vs. state vs. private welfare programs and which ones worked best. The author mentions only a few of these things, and only at a surface level, and in simple terms of them being woefully inadequate, at least as they compare to Western Europe and OECD reports. (good grief, he repeated himself so many times on the latter point, I started to think my phone app was re-playing chapters.) This book could have been condensed to about 3 hours.

Hot air from Winterbutt

Highly educated and still can't get facts straight. This author refuses to admit the fed is one of the biggest contributors to poverty, but rather defends intervention and dependency.

Listening to this level of hot air reached a crescendo when this idiot stated the government didn't distribute monetary support until FDRs social security, which is absolutely false. For a real history lesson, listen to "When helping hurts" by Brian Fikkert...he actually know what he's talking about.

Listen to a book by an author who would rather speak truth to fact, rather than listen to himself while looking at pictures of Thunburg and wondering what life would have been like if he had friends.