Letter to Edgar Newton Eisenhower, November 8, 1954
by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas.4 Their number is negligible and they are stupid.
Letter from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Edgar Newton Eisenhower (1954)
teachingamericanhistory.org
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The Republican Party has become what the Democrat Party used to be in the South: it has become the party of the white majority. However, it consists of two constituencies with very different economic interests.
There is the Republican Donor Class. These have been getting quite a bit richer since 1980. They do not need Social Security.
But the rest of the country has not been getting richer. Moreover, there are not enough people in the Republican Donor Class to win elections for the Republicans.
Most Republicans are white blue collar workers, or retired people who were white blue collar workers. Most of these either do not make enough money to save for retirement, or they did not before they retired.
If it becomes a choice between de funding Social Security or re establishing steeply progressive taxation, which choice do you think most Republican voters will make?