We need FDR's Economic Bill Of Rights

As our nation prepares to select a new president -- while facing a recession -- we can learn much from a president who died 63 years ago tomorrow.

Franklin D. Roosevelt called for an Economic Bill of Rights in his 1944 State of the Union speech.  The political rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution were, he said, "inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness…. True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence."

FDR's second Bill of Rights included:

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

"America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens," he concluded.

The middle class and poor are falling behind

New studies make it clear the nation is slipping backward from FDR's vision for elevating the American standard of living.

In a Pew Research Center poll released this week, a majority of middle-class Americans said their economic status had stalled or declined in the past five years, the gloomiest report in half a century.

As the Chicago Sun-Times led the story yesterday:  "If the middle class is the backbone of America, the country appears to be in need of a good chiropractor."

Also this week, a study of the latest Census Bureau data found the income inequality gap growing faster than ever.  The gap between rich and poor has been widening for decades, but that trend sped up in recent years as poor families' incomes have not just grown more slowly but have fallen.  Middle-income families have stagnant incomes while the richest, of course, keep getting richer.  

The report, co-published by two policy research centers, notes that California is one of 10 states with the largest income gaps.  Among the causes: the shift from manufacturing to low-wage service jobs, the weakening of unions, the declining value of the minimum wage, and globalization.

Taking it to the streets: a Passover Seder supporting janitors

The Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice is inviting the public to a walking Seder next week in the UTC area.  Clergy, elected officials and others will use the traditional ritual to highlight the oppression of San Diego area janitors working for poverty wages, with no healthcare.  Click here for details.