Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Who Will be North Carolina's Next Josiah Bailey? by JOHN HOOD The President was personally liked. But his policies were failing. After initial signs of improvement, the economy again began to sputter. Job creation was virtually nonexistent. Programs meant to stimulate "aggregate demand" had in reality funded wasteful and politically connected projects. Millions of Americans feared for the future. The year was 1937. The president was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And Josiah Bailey, a recently reelected U.S. senator from North Carolina, was determined to do something about what he saw as the excesses and dangers of Roosevelt's New Deal program. Although a Democrat who previously supported Roosevelt, Bailey had become convinced that higher taxes, bigger budgets and greater governmental involvement in private business were antithetical both to job creation and to America's constitutional traditions. He wrote that the federal government had turned into "a gift enterprise and the gifts are at the expense of those who work and earn and save." Bailey was particularly appalled by the 1935 passage of what became known as the "Soak the Rich" tax bill. Among other provisions, it imposed a tax surcharge on those making above $50,000 (about $800,000 in today's money) and raised taxes on corporate income and dividends. Together with the onset of the Social Security payroll tax and some new regulations, these changes dealt the economy a major blow in 1937. The unemployment rate shot up towards 20 percent, and Bailey considered the President's policies to be directly responsible. Roosevelt rejected that explanation. Instead, the president blamed wealthy business executives, professionals and investors — whom he called "economic royalists" — for the country's weak economy. Sound familiar? There were other members of Congress who felt the same way Bailey did, however. After Roosevelt's political momentum crashed against the harsh realities of 1937, these critics grew emboldened. Secretly, Democratic Sen. Bailey and Republican Sen. Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan helped form a bipartisan group to craft an economic-growth plan. The resulting document eventually became known as the Conservative Manifesto, although many of its architects, including Bailey, didn't use the term at the time. "I am a great liberal when it comes to the fundamental meaning of the word," he wrote, "but I am not a liberal when they interpret liberalism in terms of a return to the old reactionary system of centralized power and control of the individual with a view to limiting his activities." The secrecy didn't last. After the New York Times reported on its existence in December 1937, the legislative effort fi zzled. Only Bailey was willing to go on the record as having helped pen the manifesto, which argued that "private enterprise, properly fostered, carries the indispensable element of vigor." The Manifesto contained 10 policy planks, including spending reduction, a balanced budget, pro-growth tax reform, an end to government aid to labor unions and politically favored businesses, devolution of power to states and localities and entitlement reform. While the Conservative Manifesto didn't lead directly to legislation, Josiah Bailey it did fi nd an infl uential audience. Dozens of trade associations and business journals endorsed and reprinted it thousands of times. Republicans and pro-business Democrats, including some offi cials within the Roosevelt administration itself, began to push for a less hostile relationship with private investors and business leaders. During 1938, these trends began to coalesce. More than 100 House Democrats crossed party lines to help defeat Roosevelt's plan to strengthen executive power over Congress, the courts and the private sector. And in November, voters gave Republicans one of the biggest mid-term victories in American political history: 81 new House seats, seven Senate seats and 13 governorships. By no means was Franklin Roosevelt fi nished. He remained personally popular, and as the clouds over Europe and Asia darkened, Americans turned to the president for leadership through the coming international storm. But on domestic policy, the Roosevelt administration moderated. Now, as the nation continues to suffer from the stagnating effects of the Great Recession, we need a similar bipartisan effort to recover and restore the American traditions of limited, constitutional government and free enterprise. But who will play the role of North Carolina's Josiah Bailey? JOHN HOOD, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Stephanie@upand- comingweekly.com Fayetteville FireAntz Fight for Blood by DEAN RUSSELL The Fayetteville FireAntz will be fighting for blood — off the ice — to help increase the community's blood supply for the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center. January is National Blood Donor month and the FireAntz and the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center need everyone's help. Blood is traditionally in short supply during the winter months due to holidays, travel schedules, inclement weather and illness. The community's blood supply feels the impact of the shortage of donors, especially during January, so the FireAntz are urging people to take some time during this month to help give the gift of life. Approximately every two seconds, someone needs blood. Five million Americans would die each year without it and the only place to get this precious resource is from volunteer blood donors. All the blood donated to the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center stays in the community to save local patients with cancer and other diseases, organ transplant recipients, surgical patients, neonatal patients and accident victims. Every pint of blood donated saves up to volunteer donors to join the ranks of those who already give of themselves so generously. Donating blood is a safe, simple and an easy way to help your friends, family and neighbors. Friday, Jan. 13, is Blood Donor Night at the FireAntz game. The Blood Donor Center will be at the game giving out information and answering questions about donating blood or platelets. We will hand out the annual Blood Donor Center poster that night with some of your favorite Fayetteville FireAntz on it. After the game, fans have a chance to meet Team up with the FireAntz and the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center. three lives. This small act of kindness helps in such a tremendous way. In recognition of National Blood Donor Month, the Blood Donor Center is giving donors a fi ery red tumbler, while supplies last. Every month, Cape Fear Valley Health transfuses about 1,100 units of blood to their patients. Sixty percent of people are eligible to donate blood but less than fi ve percent actually do. There is a need for additional healthy, WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM and greet the FireAntz and get autographs from their favorite players, courtesy of the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center. The Fayetteville FireAntz will be at some of the different donation sites throughout the season. There will also be some of your Fayetteville FireAntz players at Methodist University on Wednesday, Feb.1 from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Come out either of those days to give blood, see your favorite FireAntz player and get entered to win tickets to a future Fayetteville FireAntz hockey game. It takes the entire community's support to fi ght for our patients; team up with the FireAntz and the Blood Donor Center to fi ght for blood! DEAN RUSSELL, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. JANUARY 11-17, 2012 UCW 11