The Unemployment President | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Unemployment President | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "FDR's programs that were supposed to help the middle class and the poor were mainly paid for by the middle class and the poor. This was because the biggest single source of federal revenue during the New Deal period were excise taxes on beer, cigarettes, chewing gum, soda and other cheap pleasures enjoyed mainly by the middle class and the poor. To hear one of FDR's famous 'Fireside Chats,' people had to pay an excise tax for a radio and an excise tax on the electricity needed to turn it on."