Although he did not utter the words "Build Back Better", President Biden tried to salvage parts of his huge social stimulus bill by mentioning them in his State of the Union Address. It didn't work. Senator Manchin remains unpersuaded. 

So when did the U.S. government start doling out social benefits anyway? What did John Quincy Adams say about one particular pension program? Which was the party of high tariffs and high pensions? Which three presidents successfully reformed social welfare programs? Which president decreased them the most? How did FDR's New Deal change America's social welfare culture? How did our social benefits programs hemorrhage into the costly colossus that they are now? And what are some of the recent eye-popping statistics for "mandatory" spending programs?

In this episode, Professor John Cogan, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a Professor of Public Policy Program at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, tells the history of America's entitlements, including a story of longevity, love and marriage, along with eye-popping economic stats. He is the of The High Cost of Good Intentions: A History of U.S. Federal Entitlement Programs. (See in Amazon).

I hope you enjoy this episode and gain some perspective about the long history of America's entitlement programs. 

Adel

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