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IS A NEW “NEW DEAL” ABOUT TO WIPE OUT THE OLD POLITICAL ORDER?  
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Thom Hartmann
December 22, 2025
Hartmann Report
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_ My grandfather (a 1917 Norwegian immigrant) frequently and proudly
described himself as a socialist. When I asked him what he meant, he
always pointed me to FDR, the New Deal, and his proposed Second Bill
of Rights. And here we are again. _

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The media is freaking out over a new Rasmussen poll that found:

“A majority of voters under 40 WANT A DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST to win
the White House in the next presidential election.

“… 51% of Likely U.S. Voters ages 18 to 39 WOULD LIKE TO SEE A
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST CANDIDATE WIN THE 2028 presidential election.
Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t want a democratic socialist to win in
2028, while 17% are not sure. …

“Among the youngest cohort (ages 18-24) of voters, 57% WANT A
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST to win the next presidential election…

“Among those WHO VOTED FOR KAMALA HARRIS in last year’s
presidential election, 78% WOULD LIKE TO SEE A DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST
candidate win the 2028 presidential election…” (_emphasis added_)

I WAS ON ALI VELSHI’S MSNOW SHOW YESTERDAY MORNING DISCUSSING THIS
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ALONG WITH MICHAEL GREEN WHO RECENTLY WROTE A THOUGHT-PROVOKING
ARTICLE [[link removed]] ABOUT
HOW THE OFFICIAL POVERTY LINE IN AMERICA IS COMPLETELY OUT-OF-DATE AND
OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE NEEDS OF MOST AMERICANS. I SHARED A FEW
STATISTICS FROM MY RECENT BOOK _THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN
DREAM: THE DEMISE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS AND HOW TO RESCUE OUR FUTURE_
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— When, in 1957, my dad bought the house I grew up in, the average
cost of a single-family home in America was about 2.2 times the
average annual wage. Today it’s more than ten times the average
wage.— WHEN MY BOOMER GENERATION WAS THE SAME AGE AS TODAY’S
MILLENNIALS, WE OWNED A BIT OVER 22% OF THE NATION’S WEALTH;
MILLENNIALS TODAY CONTROL ONLY ABOUT 4% OF THE COUNTRY’S WEALTH (AND
IT’S THE SAME FOR ZOOMERS).— From the 1930s right up until the
Reagan Revolution, it was possible for seniors to live comfortably on
Social Security alone
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Reagan undid that with his “reforms” so today that’s nearly
impossible.— WHEN I RAN MY FIRST SERIOUSLY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS IN
THE EARLY 1970S, IT COST ME AROUND $35/MONTH FOR COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH
INSURANCE FOR EACH OF MY 18 EMPLOYEES; AT THAT TIME HOSPITALS AND
HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WERE REQUIRED BY MICHIGAN LAW (WHERE I
LIVED; MOST OTHER STATES WERE IDENTICAL) TO BE RUN AS NON-PROFITS.
TODAY, HEALTH INSURANCE CAN BE AS MUCH AS ONE-FIFTH OF A COMPANY’S
PAYROLL EXPENSE.— When Reagan came into office in 1981, a single
wage earner could support a family with a middle-class lifestyle, and
fully 65% of us were in the middle class (up from around 20% in the
1930s). Today, after 44 years of Reaganomics, it takes two full-time
people to achieve the same status, which triggers huge childcare
expenses, which is part of why only 43% of us are middle class .

FDR’S GREAT — AND SUCCESSFUL — DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST EXPERIMENT
FOLLOWING THE REPUBLICAN GREAT DEPRESSION WAS TO DRIVE THE ECONOMY
FROM THE BOTTOM UP, REVERSING THE “HORSE AND SPARROW
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TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS AND DEREGULATION OF THE HARDING, COOLIDGE, AND
HOOVER ADMINISTRATIONS THAT PROVOKED THE GREAT CRASH.

He did that by:

— EXPANDING THE NOTION OF THE COMMONS — THE STUFF WE ALL
COLLECTIVELY OWN AND IS ADMINISTERED OR FUNDED AND REGULATED BY
GOVERNMENT — TO INCLUDE FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION NATIONWIDE (AND CHEAP
COLLEGE), OLD-AGE RETIREMENT (SOCIAL SECURITY), AND PUBLIC POWER AND
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY, FEDERAL SUPPORT
FOR LOCAL TRANSIT, ROADS AND HIGHWAYS).— Legalizing unions, an
effort that was so successful that when Reagan came into office fully
a third of us had good union jobs and, because they set the local wage
floors, two-thirds of Americans had the equivalent of a union wage and
benefit package.— ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM WAGE ON WHICH A SINGLE
WORKER COULD RAISE A FAMILY
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OF THREE AND STILL STAY _ABOVE_ THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL (TODAY’S
FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE IS $7.25: ADJUSTED WITH THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX,
THAT $1.60 MINIMUM WAGE IN 1968 IS EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT $14.90 AN HOUR
IN 2025 DOLLARS).

In the years since, we’ve continued to expand the commons by
establishing national single-payer healthcare systems for low-income
people (Medicaid) and retired people (Medicare), both of which came
out of LBJ’s Democratic Socialist program that he called The Great
Society.

MEANWHILE, REPUBLICANS AND A FEW NEOLIBERAL DEMOCRATS HAVE PUSHED BACK
AGAINST THESE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PROGRAMS THAT MADE THE AMERICAN
MIDDLE CLASS THE FIRST IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD TO EXCEED MORE THAN
HALF THE POPULATION.

— Reagan’s war on unions has cut our union membership down to well
under 10% in the private sector.— HIS GUTTING FEDERAL FUNDING FOR
EDUCATION HAS EXPLODED COLLEGE COSTS TO THE POINT WHERE THREE
GENERATIONS ARE SADDLED WITH OVER $2 TRILLION IN DEBT THAT CAN’T BE
DISCHARGED BY BANKRUPTCY.— Reagan’s tax cuts for the rich (from
74% down to 27%) and corporations tripled the national debt (from $800
billion to $2.4 trillion) just in his eight years; since then the four
GW Bush and Trump tax cuts have, when combined with Reagan’s,
produced a $38 trillion national debt so big that we now spend more on
servicing their debt than we do on our defense budget or would on
administering a national healthcare system.

BACK IN THE 1940S, AFTER THE INCREDIBLE SUCCESS OF THE NEW DEAL,
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT WANTED TO FURTHER EXPAND THE COMMONS BY EXPANDING
THE SCOPE OF HIS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PROGRAMS. JUST BEFORE HE DIED,
HE PROPOSED A “SECOND BILL OF RIGHTS
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THAT INCLUDED:

— “The right to a useful and remunerative job in the nation’s
industries, shops, farms, or mines. (Unionization and an
above-poverty-level minimum wage.)— “THE RIGHT TO EARN ENOUGH TO
PROVIDE ADEQUATE FOOD, CLOTHING, AND RECREATION. (DITTO AND GOVERNMENT
AS THE EMPLOYER OF LAST RESORT.)— “The right of every farmer to
raise and sell products at a return that gives his family a decent
living. (Don’t manipulate farm prices with stupid tariff wars, etc.,
and make the government the purchaser of last resort.)— “THE RIGHT
OF EVERY BUSINESSPERSON, LARGE AND SMALL, TO TRADE FREE FROM UNFAIR
COMPETITION AND DOMINATION BY MONOPOLIES. (BREAK UP THE GIANT
CORPORATIONS AND ENCOURAGE AVERAGE PEOPLE TO START SMALL BUSINESSES,
INCLUDING WITH LOAN SUPPORTS.)— “The right of every family to a
decent home. (Today this would mean no more corporations, hedge funds,
and foreign billionaires owning single-family homes to squeeze us dry
by jacking up rents.)— “THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE MEDICAL CARE AND THE
OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY GOOD HEALTH. (FDR FAVORED A SINGLE-PAYER
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM LIKE MEDICARE FOR ALL.)— “The right to
protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and
unemployment (i.e., robust Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment
insurance).— “THE RIGHT TO A GOOD EDUCATION.” (FREE OR
INEXPENSIVE COLLEGE, QUALITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN EVERY COMMUNITY.)

Much to the chagrin of my Republican-activist father, my grandfather
(a 1917 Norwegian immigrant) frequently and proudly described himself
as a socialist. When I asked him what he meant, he always pointed me
to FDR, the New Deal, and his proposed Second Bill of Rights.

AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN.

My grandfather’s generation saw up-close and firsthand the
tax-cutting and deregulation binge of the Roaring 20’s (which were
only “roaring” for the morbidly rich), and then had the lived
experience of watching FDR put the country back together and create
the world’s first widespread middle class.

MILLENNIALS AND ZOOMERS TODAY ARE SEEING THE SAME THING, BETWEEN THE
BUSH HOUSING CRASH OF 2008, THE BOTCHED COVID CRASH OF 2020, AND THE
GOP’S RELENTLESS PROGRAM TO DRIVE THE WEALTH OF THE NATION INTO THE
MONEY BINS OF THE BILLIONAIRES WHO OWN THAT PARTY.

They see the example of most European countries, where the commons
includes college (many will actually pay you a stipend to attend),
healthcare, and daycare/preschool, and union density is often well
above 80%. Housing is subsidized or heavily regulated, leading several
to have essentially ended homelessness
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Giant corporate monopolies are prohibited
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and local small businesses are encouraged
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EUROPEANS CALL THESE PROGRAMS DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM OR SOCIAL
DEMOCRACY, AND YOUNG AMERICANS CLEARLY ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT BRINGING
THE “EUROPEAN DREAM” TO THIS COUNTRY.

My sense is that — much like in the 1930s — a significant majority
of Americans are sick of the neoliberal “let the rich run things
because they know best” bullshit that Republicans, “Tech Bros,”
and a shrinking minority of on-the-take Democratic politicians
embrace.

MEANWHILE, NOBODY’S SURE WHY THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (DNC)
IS REFUSING TO RELEASE
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THE AUTOPSY THEY DID OF THE 2024 ELECTION, PRODUCING SPECULATION IT
MAY HAVE UNCOVERED EXAMPLES OF RUSSIAN AND REPUBLICAN MANIPULATION OF
BOTH VOTERS AND THE VOTE, BUT I’M GUESSING THE REAL REASON IS THAT
THE NEOLIBERALS WHO LARGELY RUN THE DNC SAW FEEDBACK THAT REFLECTED
THE RASMUSSEN POLL I OPENED THIS ARTICLE WITH.

The exploding popularity of progressive politicians from Zorhan
Mamdani to Bernie Sanders, Jasmine Crockett, Ro Khanna, Mark Pocan,
and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aren’t an anomaly; they’re a signpost
to both electoral and governing success for the next generation of
genuinely progressive Democratic politicians.

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_The song that was inspired by this article __is here_
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_My reading this article as an audio podcast is __here_
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_MY NEWEST BOOK, __THE LAST AMERICAN PRESIDENT: A BROKEN MAN, A
CORRUPT PARTY, AND A WORLD ON THE BRINK_
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IS NOW AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORES NATIONWIDE._

_You can follow me on Blue Sky here:
__https://bsky.app/profile/thomhartmann.bsky.social_
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_[__THOM HARTMANN_
[[link removed]]_ is a New York
Times bestselling, four-times Project Censored Award-winning author,
and host of The Thom Hartmann Program, which has been broadcasting
live nationwide for 20 years on AM and FM radio, SiriusXM satellite,
and as video on Free Speech TV, YouTube, and Twitter/X.]_

 

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* tax the rich
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* 99%
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* Economic Crisis
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* DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM
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