Commentary on
President John F. Kennedy's "State of The Union"
Message to Congress on January 11, 1962
by
Douglas R. Voohrees, Democrat
[REFERENCE: This is a mimeographed letter/
leaflet sent to the Chief of Police,
Dade County supposedly by Douglas Voohrees]
January 25, 1962
Douglas R. Voohrees
307 N. E. 99th St.
Miami Shores, Fla.
COMMENTARY ON PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY'S "STATE OF THE UNION" MESSAGE
TO CONGRESS ON JANUARY 11, 1962
by Douglas R. Voohrees, Democrat
Castro, plus concrete, plus Katanga, equals no confidence.
I believe Mr. Kennedy's domestic policies mostly wrong and his foreign policy
to be deadly wrong.
JFK 2nd paragraph: "Members of the Congress, the Constitution makes us not
rivals for power but partners for progress. We are all trustees for
the American people, custodians of the American heritage. It is my
task to report the state of the Union--to improve it is the task of us all."
Mr. Kennedy proposes that in order to strengthen our economy the Congress
must provide my children with education, health, opportunity for a good home,
a good job - and a good life. Show me in the Constitution where Mr.
Kennedy or Congress has the power or ought to do the things for me and my
children that I know very well I can do for myself - better - and at less
cost. I want my children to be self-reliant, creative, and independent
from the social planners. Liberty, as I understand it, is freedom from
government. Decent and courageous men have not died in vain through
the ages to protect and further this principle. Mr. Kennedy's proposal
is utterly and totally inconsistent with the "American heritage".
Politicians taking false credits is an old story. The increased government
expenditures which Mr. Kennedy got Congress to "stimulate" our economy in
1961 will have to be paid for some day by my children. Franklin Delano
Roosevelt's experience taught me that the Keynesian theory of economics was
wrong - that governments cannot spend their way to prosperity.
President Kennedy made six specific proposals:
1. Manpower Training and Development Act - more bureaucracy and boondoggling
with my tax dollar.
2. Youth Employment Opportunities Act - even worse - getting young
people to look to central government rather than themselves just when they
are starting out in the world. This is not being a good custodian of
the American heritage.
3. 8% tax credit for investment in machinery and equipment.. Why no
28% Tax credit frees capital. Capital creates jobs. Jobs create
wealth and nothing else does. Why isn't there a specific plan to put
before Congress pertaining to depreciation allowances?
4 & 5. Presidential authority (power) to adjust personal income tax rates
downward - and authority (power) to accelerate Federal and federally aided
capital improvement programs. I do no believe that any one man should
have such power downward, upward, or sideways. Power corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely. Was Mr. Kennedy just joshing when he said
that he and Congress are not rivals for power?
6. A permanent strengthening of our unemployment compensation - time
extension - indefinite? How can the central government, ‘guarantee' this
give-a-way of our tax dollars? How can they give away our dollars without
first taking them from us by force - and then giving back to us a shrunken
dollar (Less brokerage)? How can they continue to do this in dozens
of different ways without causing the nation to go bankrupt or completely
socialistic then communistic?
Remember the remarks of President James Madison when talking about the power
of the Executive: "..its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments
is multiplied; and all the means of SEDUCING the minds are added.."
Is it any wonder that the founding fathers of this nation wrote the Constitution
with full cognizance that the power of government is always a dangerous weapon
in any hands?
Is there any part but one in the six proposals that Mr. Kennedy made that
will inspire or give any incentive whatsoever for an American to "make his
own way'?
After talking about fighting inflation and urging business and labor to use
"good sense", Mr. Kennedy wants a pay increase for government employees -
the millions of them - to make their pay "more comparable to those of private
industry". Let the social planners - this ‘ruling elite' as they consider
themselves - continue on. Eventually, all Americans will rather work
for the government than for private enterprise - and they will be slaves
of the government. Doubt this? How successful have the Communists
been in making "belonging to the party' a principal instrument of their policy?
Without statesmen in government, private enterprise has no chance of survival.
What validity has Mr. Kennedy's submission of a balanced Federal budget for
fiscal 1963? New taxes - yes. But not one work about reducing current
expenditures. As the President said, he has certainly taken up where
FDR left off - spend, spend, spend - tax, tax, tax, - elect, elect, elect.
Mr. Kennedy believes that "Getting American moving" consists primarily of
such n action as the creation of a "new Department of Urban Affairs and Housing".
Since the logical development of suburban shopping centers throughout America
the downtown districts of cities have had to meet the challenge - or decay.
The challenge ought to, has been, and can be met on the local level.
But not according to the thinking of the ruling elite. They want to
take our tax dollar, waste part of it, then redistribute it on a basis of
favor and pressure groups. The great American Al Smith said on January
25, 1936, "The next danger that is apparent to me is the vast building up
of new bureaus of government, draining resources of our people in a common
pool of redistributing them, not by any process of law, but by the whim of
a bureaucratic autocracy." I am fearful that Mr. Kennedy will next
be proposing a ‘new Department of Suburban Affairs'.
Why Mr. Kennedy cannot apparently see through the illogic and inconsistency
of his ‘do'gooder' advisers is beyond my comprehension. Mr. Kennedy
said that we should take "heart" because of a "hopeful start on reducing
the farm surpluses". Imagine this. Reduce farm surpluses in a hungry
world? And our leader expects us to be heartened by this policy?
The President says that there is much more to be done by the Executive, the
Courts, and the Congress about Civil Rights. When will our political
leaders learn that they cannot legislate great morality? The President
shows every evidence of having abandoned the philosophy of individual freedom
and individual responsibility - reflected in the Bill of Rights - that attracted
to this country millions of persons from the government oppressed peoples
of Europe and the world - representing every color, race and creed.
They were in search of personal freedom, not government guaranteed security.
And as a direct result of the individual freedom specified by our Constitution
and Bill of Rights, they EARNED the greatest degree of security ever enjoyed
by any people anywhere.
The people OUTSIDE the government of this nation shall determine whether
or not "righteousness does exalt a nation". People INSIDE our government
by inflaming age old prejudices and hates by ‘rogressive' laws and ‘popular'
court decisions can kill the spirit of this nation and its people.
In the first paragraph of Mr. Kennedy's address having to do with "Health
and Welfare" he clearly shows his misguided political philosophy: "..For
WE are not developing the Nation's wealth for its own sake..All our material
riches will avail us little if WE do not use them to expand the opportunities
of OUR people. "By my political action I am saying to the President, LEAVE
MY WEALTH ALONE. I will promote my own opportunities within the law.
I will pay taxes to support necessary government. The balance of my
wealth I will spend or give away according to my choice - not yours.
And - I am not YOUR person. And when I get old I want Mr. Kennedy to
know that I reduced my ‘beer' budget long ago and expect to take care of
myself until I'm broke - and then I'll go on charity if I have to.
At least I can say that I've been a man who tried to the best of my ability
independently from any government.
In ‘promoting' the ‘general welfare' in Education, Mr. Kennedy is joining
the Castro government in a "massive attack to end this adult illiteracy".
I know some illiterates whose judgment in some basic values I trust more
than I do some of Mr. Kennedy's Harvard PHDs and Phi Bet Kappas. I
hope it was called to the attention of Mr. Kennedy how Florida Banks have
followed other states in providing scholarship loans to worthy students.
What happened to the proposal for a ‘Freedom Academy' - to study the all
important aspects of psychological warfare? Why isn't there a proposal
for a ‘Space Academy' to supplement our air, sea, and land academies?
Mr. Kennedy says, "..and the policy of this administration is to give to
the individual the opportunity to realize his own highest possibilities."
How can Mr. Kennedy give me something I already have? I know that if
the government becomes big and powerful enough to give me everything that
it is also big and powerful enough to take everything from me. Think
of the implications of Mr. Kennedy's statement: "Our program is to open to
all the opportunity for steady and productive employment, to remove from
all the handicap of arbitrary and irrational exclusion, to offer to all the
facilities for education and health and welfare, to make society the servant
of the individual and the individual the source of progress, and thus to
realize for all the full promise of American life." Big brother!
Insignificant becomes the words of our President in regard to domestic policies
leading to the welfare state when they are compared to what he said in regard
to "elements in our foreign policy".
Mr. Kennedy suggests to our Congress that our whole problem should be viewed
as a race between "education and catastrophe". He sees the future as
"competition v/s annihilation" rather than "slavery vs freedom". Mr.
Kennedy makes it clear that he believes the overriding threat in the world
today is nuclear war - not the bringing of all human thought under the absolute
control of an aggressive tyrant. Nowhere does he indicate that our
government should recognize the World Communist movement as a ‘criminal conspiracy'
to be officially recognized as such. Rather he argues that mankind
is ready for a ‘one-world' government in a community of nations which ought
to be free and independent states. He indicates that the refusal to
take a risk does not give an avowed enemy a blank check. It is evident
that he does not believe that loyalty follows strength. Without mentioning
the atomic blackmail to which this nation has submitted he insists that we
should rely on "hope" of the United Nations. He asks us to believe
that on the record the United Nations has been a success - that the United
Nations can and will succeed even though the greatest and most subtle war
making power in the history of the world is firmly entrenched within it.
In short, it appears to me that he believes that the preservation of the
United Nations is more important than the preservation of the United States
- House Resolution #226 to the contrary. He argues that time is on
our side. He argues that psychological victories such as Castro and
the wall in Berlin are evidence of how this nation should continue to pursue
the foreign policy of ‘peaceful containment coexistence'. Ever since
he endorsed the idea of trading tractors for Cuban prisoners, it is evident
that Mr. Kennedy sees history as proof positive that aggressive tyrants mellow
and can be stopped by showing weakness and cowardice. He asks that
our tax money be used to buy $100,000,000.00 worth of U.N. Bonds - after
the U.N. has been given every chance but failed to succeed in its primary
purpose "to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security..".
He does not recognize the United Nations as a self-defeating instrument of
what should be our foreign policy- Victory over World Communism. He
does not recognize his new Department for Arms Control and Disarmament as
like trying to play a football and a baseball game on the same field at the
same time. He says the use of force is dangerous and that we must break
the logjam on disarmament and nuclear tests. Because he is Commander-in-Chief
of our armed forces should an American be fearful that he will decide the
time and place to turn our nuclear weapons and limited war capacities one
the U.N.? All this he advocate with full knowledge that to divorce
force from diplomacy causes our power to have no purpose and our negotiations
to have no force.
I do not believe that the heritage of liberty is convertible in cash.
I do not believe I can buy loyal friends. Yet Mr. Kennedy argues that
our Foreign Aid program is not like throwing good money after bad.
He does not mention that some ‘sovereign nations are at least 1000 years
behind us in concept of government of, by, and for the people. He tries
to make us believe that the peace Corps is an effective counter-force to
the most superbly organized bunch of International Gangsters in the world.
He tries to make us believe that it is in the best interests of the United
States for the newly unified Agency for International Development to emphasize
long term development loans to countries which may or may not be socialistic.
By his actions, it is apparent that Mr. Kennedy does not believe that the
Communists have the psychological know-how and are fast getting the military
might to "bury us". He evidently thinks Kruschev was lying when he
(Kruschev) said; "We assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small
doses of Socialism, until t hey suddenly awake to find they have Communism."
Mr. Kennedy said that in Berlin he was prepared to fight,,,if necessary.
Then he states that the use of force is dangerous. I fail to see any
mention of what might happen when Russia signs a separate peace treaty with
East Germany. I believe that it is his intention to have the Berlin
issue settled in the United Nations - which of course would undermine our
position in the whole western world - and destroy NATO. He did say
that NATO is broadening from its original military purpose and will use diplomacy
(from which force is divorced). He said that aid, trade, and monetary
affairs are the proper concern of NATO. I should be heartened by this
development which Mr. Kennedy says will grow like a coral reef - which incidentally
takes centuries to develop to the size of, say, a three bedroom house?
Mr. Kennedy argues in effect that we are not over-extended militarily nor
over committed in foreign aid. He says that persistently large deficits
in our balance of payments would endanger our economic growth and our military
and defense commitments abroad. But he argues that we can afford deficits
now and should raise the national debt limit. He says that we should
join the European Common Market and reduce our tariff, and makes the most
astounding statement; "We must not let local economic pressures in the United
States hold us back." Not one word does he say of the importance of
wage differentials between us and other countries, to say nothing of taxes
and free trade unionism. He says the central government should "..provide
for appropriate and tested forms of assistance to firms and employees adjusting
to import competition". Just what "appropriate and tested" give-a-way
of my tax money does Mr. Kennedy have in mind?
I believe that personal freedom cannot exist without individual responsibility.
I believe that the federal government should not try to manage my personal
affairs and therefore I oppose government ‘guaranteed' and compulsory security.
I submit that I have been losing my American heritage. I have been
contributing to the losing of our own Revolution of 1776 - through my own
weaknesses. I have voted for candidates who have promised me special
privileges, government pensions and subsidies, and who have handled our foreign
policy in an unbroken chain of miserable defeats.
Now, I intend to be one of the 51% of the voters who will decide my fate
and to do all within my power to help elect officials who share my philosophy
of constitutional government.
Better brave than slave.
Douglas R. Voohrees
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