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The Roosevelt administration buttressed increased wages by more equitably distributing wealth in America. Welfare-state programs such as Social Security and unemployment compensation were, in effect, transfers in wealth from employers to employees, although programs such as these were not nearly as radical in the United States as they were in Europe, and many of the benefits of such transfers were offset by indirect taxes. Devaluation of the dollar in 1934 and reform of the Federal Reserve System increased the money supply and eased credit. Finally, the New Dealers shifted the tax burden to the wealthiest Americans, increasing the purchasing power of average citizens. While Roosevelt opponents, such as Louisiana politician Huey Long, suggested a confiscatory 100 percent tax on millionaires, Roosevelt settled for steep inheritance and luxury taxes. The Revenue Acts of 1937 clamped down on tax loopholes for businesses and levied a new tax on undistributed...
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This section contains 226 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) |
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