JANUARY 30, 1882 — BIRTH OF PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

1882 — BIRTH OF PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
"The real truth is…that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson.” Roosevelt missed a chance to fundamentally improve our economy, if not democracy, during the Great Depression when he chose to go into debt to pay for the his many “New Deal” programs. A group of prominent economists from across the nation had urged him in what was known as “The Chicago Plan” to pay for his programs by issuing debt-free money, based on the previously issued Greenbacks during the Lincoln Administration. Instead, FDR added to the government debt which enriched bankers and all others who purchased U.S. Treasuries.