Jan 8, 2009 0
the Second Bill of Rights
I noted with interest that Obama has tapped Cass Sunstein to be the head of Federal Regulation (head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs). This is interesting to me for a couple reasons which I didn’t realize until a couple months ago when my wife told me that this was the man who married Samantha Power (a person I have great respect for). It then dawned on me that Cass had once been a guest blogger on Lawrence Lessig’s blog and had also written a book about reintroducing to the U.S. FDR’s Second Bill of Rights.
The Second Bill of Rights is something I took interest in a few years ago when I first became aware of it (I am sometimes slow on the news of these things… by decades). Its a brilliant bit of words which has influenced many other countries but never took hold here due to many people’s misinterpretation of what “social” means (in other words, thinking that all social == communist). Here simply, are the guarantees the Second Bill of Rights would provide:
- A job with a living wage
- Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies
- Homeownership
- Medical care
- Education
- Recreation
FDR framed this list of rights as a failure of the original Bill of Rights to meet the “pursuit of happiness” mandate in the Constitution. This was not introduced as a change to the constitution but was to be worked out “politically” (what great hope!) To me that was a shrewd move that still allows it to have some measure of success.
I am under no illusion that Cass Sunstein can do much about the Second Bill of Rights as the head of Federal regulation, however, for those who don’t like all the former Clinton people coming into Obama’s fold I will hold him up as a great example of an attempt to change the way we run our country.
I should point out that the above list of rights is a brief version and not how FDR put it, but it is a version I like. Below is an excerpt from the transcript of FDR’s 1944 State of the Union Address in which he introduced the idea. I always found it amazing that he was working on these during one of the most active periods of WWII.
As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness. We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being. America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.
Update: Here’s some more information on Sunstein’s appointment and why he fits into this particular job.
