In the late 1800s, children worked in factories. The people with wealth and power fought against any laws or regulations that would take the children from their factories. Regulations got made to protect children, they were soon declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
https://www.history.com/news/child-labor-lewis-hine-photos
Indeed, the 1920s were booming years, everyone was putting their money into the stock market to become wealthy. The stock market crashed, and the rich got richer. The poor investors jumped off rooftops or out windows. It wasn’t just small investors who lost everything in the stock market crash. My Grandfather sold some cattle the day before the crash. He deposited the check in his local bank. He never did receive the needed money for those cattle. The bank took his check but he never received the money. Then the Great Depression started.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929
President Roosevelt knew help had to come from the federal government. That was the beginning of the Social Security system to keep people from starving to death. The rich people fought it; they did not want a Social Security system in the United States. Their motto was, ‘pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.’
https://www.ssa.gov/history/hfaq.html
The United States has the highest health costs in the world, many people cannot afford to go to a doctor or have proper health care. Different administrations fought back and forth for years but nobody acted on it. A Medicare Program was finally passed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare
It too was opposed by the powerful people. When they gained control of the Senate a bill did get passed letting their friends who owned the drug companies charge exorbitant prices for needed drugs.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690175/
Politicians have sworn they will replace the affordable healthcare act for years. They haven’t come up with a plan of their own yet. Maybe they feel it’s your duty not to expect government help. Stay home and die like a man with your bootstraps in your hands.
The rich who steer this ship has opposed everything that would help the working person throughout history. Their main goal seems to be, retain enough lawyers so they never have to pay any income tax.
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