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      If You Want Joe Biden to Govern More Like FDR Than Jamie Dimon, Vote for Bernie Sanders on Tuesday in New York and Kentucky

      If You Want Joe Biden to Govern More Like FDR Than Jamie Dimon, Vote for Bernie Sanders on Tuesday in New York and Kentucky

      The progressive base of the Democratic has to let Biden—and the rest of the party's leaders—know which way the wind is blowing.

      Alan Minsky
      Jun 22, 2020

      Heading into Tuesday's New York and Kentucky primaries, Joe Biden has already won enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination. Given that, it must seem counter-intuitive to ask voters to support the second-place finisher in the race for the nomination. However, a vote for Bernie Sanders is not just symbolic; it will increase the size of the progressive delegation to this summer's Democratic National Convention. This delegation will be petitioning the party and the nominee to adopt policies that the vast majority of Democrats support and that America desperately needs in this time of crisis.

      Indeed, if you're serious about addressing the problems facing American society, a vote for Bernie on Tuesday might be one of the most positively-impactful votes in your lifetime. If you think that sounds like hyperbole--it's not. Here's why. Ideologically, the Democratic Party in 2020 is split in two--between a moderate establishment, supported overwhelmingly by voters over 50, and an insurgent progressive wing with a fervent young base. The moderate politicians are for maintaining neo-liberal policies consistent with the Clinton and Obama administrations. The progressives, in contrast, see neo-liberalism as a failed project that only served the wealthy few, and call for a return to FDR-like social democratic policies that prioritize the needs of poor, working and middle class Americans. Joe Biden is a career moderate Democrat. Bernie Sanders is a lifelong left progressive. Joe Biden won, Bernie took second.

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      Opinion
      The Remarkable Mothers of Social Security

      The Remarkable Mothers of Social Security

      In memory of those brilliant, hard-driving, creative, and compassionate Mothers of Social Security, all of us should commit to fighting to expand Social Security

      Nancy J. Altman
      May 11, 2019

      This Mother's Day, let's celebrate the remarkable Mothers of Social Security. Without them, this essential program may never have been born. It certainly would be much less successful and effective.

      The Mothers of Social Security pushed for an expansive, ambitious program. When necessary, they fiercely resisted men too cautious to embrace their bold vision. All of us benefit immensely from their work--particularly women, for whom Social Security's modest benefits are especially important.

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      Opinion
      Honoring Frances Perkins, the 'Mother' of Social Security

      Honoring Frances Perkins, the 'Mother' of Social Security

      "You care about this thing. You believe in it," FDR told Perkins of her idea for a social insurance program for retirees. "Therefore, I know you will put your back into it more than everyone else."

      Max Richtman
      Mar 26, 2019

      In the iconic photo of Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act of 1935, the dignitaries crowded around the president stare intently at the legislation on his desk. Only one looks directly into the camera. She is the woman without whom we likely would not have Social Security today: Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins - alone in a sea of men, wearing a slim black dress with white buttons and a fashionable tricorn hat. Like other pioneering women from the first half of the 20th century, Perkins deserves to be honored before Women's History Month 2019 ends.

      If FDR was the father of Social Security, the first-ever female Labor Secretary was the mother. Perkins coaxed, cajoled, and practically willed the program into being, undaunted by formidable obstacles (including the question of its very constitutionality). When Christopher Breiseth, former CEO of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, asked Perkins to identify her proudest achievement toward the end of her life, she said without hesitation in her clipped and carefully cultivated Boston Brahmin accent: "Two words: Social Security."

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