Comment by ThunderSizzle

Comment by ThunderSizzle a day ago

We haven't been the land of the free in a while, but we repeat it enough and then keep electing the uniparty in to keep it moving.

Itjumped significantly when the Federal Reserve was founded, backed by a national and originally-unconstitutional unapportioned direct income tax to feed it money. DC suddenly had a way to tax anyone and everyone without repercussions. Then FDR played with fascism and instituted many new agencies interested in managing the economy.

The welfare state LBJ started began the individual competing with free government money, and we've had nothing but an explosion of regulations tied to taxes or grants thanks to these categories and the hope of managing an economy to utopia.

mschuster91 a day ago

> Then FDR played with fascism

That's a gross misrepresentation of history. Politically, FDR can be most fittingly described as "European-style Social Democrat". He was not "playing with fascism", he literally was the President during the war against the literal fascists in Europe.

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bmelton a day ago

Fascists can fight wars with other fascists, so that's not a counter to the argument.
I think it's a debatable point, but if I were to steelman the argument, LBJ significantly expanded federal authority through his Great Society programs, concentrated control at the expense of federalism, massively expanded the surveillance state to target civil rights leaders and anti-war activists, and advanced an aggressive foreign policy through military action.
Meanwhile, he was glad-handing Congress to exert stronger, central control over the government.
I'd be hard pressed to call any one of those actions fascistic, but if you believe that any parts of modern America are, then those greased the wheels to them. Certainly seems enough to have justified the descriptor of 'flirting with' imo

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