THE GOOD THINGS LIBERALISM HAS BROUGHT AMERICA

Interstate Highway System

era: 1950's-present
Proposed by Roosevelt and erected by Eisenhower (a Republican), the
Interstate system was a big government project. As much as anything else in
the post WWII era, the Interstate is responsible for tremendous economic
growth, prosperity, and has spawned an entire culture.

GI Bill

era: 1950's
This act of Congress enabled millions upon millions of Americans to get
college educations, something that most Americans had never had the
opportunity to do previously. An entire generation of leaders, scientists,
and business people owe their education to the GI Bill.

Labor Laws

era: 1930's-present
An end to child labor, 40 hour work weeks, the right of employees to
collectively bargain, overtime pay, workplace safety, all of the things we
take for granted today are thanks to liberal laws passed in the first half
of this century. It was the conservatives who fought tooth and nail against
the end of sweatshops and exploitation.

Marshall Plan

era: late 1940's-1950's
Foreign aid is a popular scapegoat these days. Those who would cut it should
look back at the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe, and is the major
reason that Communism never made it past East Berlin.

Environmental Laws

era: 1970's-present
The environment has gotten much better in the last 30 years thanks to
liberals. Bald Eagles fly once again thanks to endangered species laws, most
rivers and lakes are clean again due to anti-pollution laws, and frequent
smog days are a thing of the past in most big American cities.

Food safety laws

era: 1910's-present
Ever read Sinclair's "The Jungle?" That's what things were really like
before food purity laws were on the books. Today cases of food poisoning are
rare, and consumers know that whatever they buy is safe to eat.

Workplace safety laws

era: 1930's-present
Long hours in unsafe conditions are much rarer today than in the past.
Tragedies such as the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and child labor have been
eliminated by liberal and progressive legislation.

Social Security

era: 1930's-1970's
This program has provided three generations of Americans retirement
benefits, and nearly eliminated poverty among the elderly. The program is
weakening now, but for 50 years it did its job to a T.

Economic Growth

era: 1950's-1960's
Liberalism and economic prosperity go hand-in-hand. Unlike the pseudo-boom
of the 1980's, the 1950's and 1960's were a period of sustained and real
growth for all sectors of the economy and all social classes. Taxes were
fair, government worked, and America prospered under both Democratic and
Republican administrations

Space Program

era: 1950's-present
It was Kennedy who challenged us to make it to the moon, and it is under his
and Johnson's administrations that the space program took off, with numerous
benefits to American industry and peoples' standard of living, not to
mention national pride. If you are reading this on a computer, thank the
space program and the liberals who got it going.

Peace corps

era: 1960's-present
Kennedy inspired thousands of Americans to ask what they could do for their
country, and the Peace Corps is his most visible and effective legacy

Civil rights movement

era: 1950's-present
Liberal ideals drove the biggest change in American society since the Civil
War, the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. All Americans who
believe in freedom and opportunity cannot help but be inspired by the
valiant struggles of MLK and others. Also recall if you will that the major
opponents of civil rights were conservatives.

The Tennessee Valley project

era: 1930's
The Depression-era government program bought electricity to thousands of
impoverished families in Appalachia, prevented floods, and created thousands
of new jobs.

Women's right to vote

era: 1920's-present
Before 1920, half of America's population could not exercise the essential
duty of citizenship.

Universal Public Education

era: 1890's-present
The reason America is so strong economically is because we have a
well-educated citizenry. Public schooling is the true melting pot of
America, where every student, regardless of economic background can be
taught the basics of citizenship. It is no coincidence that in the last 20
years, as conservatives have greatly weakened the public school system, that
American students have scored lower on tests and our civic society has
started to unravel.

National Weather Service

era: 1930's-present
This is one of those things you never think about, but you are glad its
there. Far from just forecasting the weather, the NWS also provides vital
data to pilots and sailors, and the NWS satellites and observation posts
provide the raw data that all other weather forecasting services (private
ones too!) depend on.

Product Labeling/Truth in Advertising Laws

era: 1910's-present
"We take it for granted that if a claim is made publicly for a product, it's
reasonable to assume it's true. Plus, every time we check the ingredients on
a can or package of food, we should mentally call down blessings on the
liberals who passed the necessary legislation over the anguished howls of
the conservatives, who were convinced such info would be prohibitively
expensive, and too big a burden on business."

Public Health

era: 1910's-present
Government funded water and sewage systems are an important part of
modernity. In addition, organizations such as the National Institute of
Health and the Center for Disease Control play an important part in
maintaining the national health and preventing epidemics through research,
vaccination programs, etc.

Morrill Land Grant Act

era: late 1800's
This act is the reason why nearly every state in the Union has a large
public university. These centers of learning have educated untold millions
of Americans. If you went to a school with a state name in it, then you were
helped by liberalism.

Rural Electrification

era: 1930's-1960's
This allowed remote, rural areas of the country the basic convinience of
electricity. I am sure that those of us using computers on the internet,
sitting in our air conditioned homes, under our electric lights consider
electricity a basic necessity - one that the pure market would never have
found profitable to provide to isolated farming communities.

Public Universities

era: 1890's-present day
Put a college education within the reach of nearly every American. In
addition to education, many of these institutions have played key roles in
all kinds of scientific research and been a strong influence on our entire
society.

Bank Deposit Insurance

era: 1930's-present day
About 1934, as part of extensive New Deal banking legislation, Congress
created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to provide federal
insurance for bank deposits.Ê This was instrumental in restoring confidence
in our nation's banks, and remains so to this day.

Earned Income Tax Credit

era: 1970's-present day
Reduces the tax burden for working families who make under $28,500.00 You
have to earn income to get it. It is not a handout. It's a great incentive
for families to stay off welfare. But the atmosphere has changed in
Washington, and Republicans had to find a way to pay for their capital-gains
tax cut, and EITC was their ticket to success. So, the Republicans voted to
cut this program by $29 billion over a certain time frame. Well guess what?
They just raised the taxes on lower income working families.

Family and Medical Leave Act

era: 1993-present day
This is a program which mandates that you have the right to job leave to
take care of sick family members, or to have a child. Many conservatives
were opposed to this valuable piece of legislation. Perhaps they were
opposed to family values?

Consumer Product Safety Commission

era: 1972-present day
These guys regulate consumer products for safety. Everything from sharp (and
edible) baby toys to flammable pajamas have been taken off the market due to
the work of this commission.

Public Broadcasting

era: 1930's-present day
Millions of our children have learned from shows like Sesame Street, 3-2-1
Contact, and Mister Rogers (and so many more). Millions of adults continue
to learn from shows like Nova. Also, the best broadcast journalism is by far
National Public Radio. PBS and NPR have served to enrich our national
culture.

Americans With Disabilities Act

era: 1990-present day
Civil rights for disabled citizens. It is fair, just, and it is the law of
the land. Credit where credit is due, former Senator Bob Dole helped push
this through, a rare nod in favor of liberalism from Mr. Dole.