Obama: Before FDR’s New Deal, ‘Millions Died Without Health Insurance’

“Now, the premise that we're all created equal is the opening line in the American story. And while we don't promise equal outcomes, we strived to deliver equal opportunity. The idea that success doesn't depend on being born into wealth or privilege, it depends on effort and merit. And with every chapter we've added to that story, we've worked hard to put those words into practice. It was Abraham Lincoln, a self-described poor man's son, who started a system of land-grant colleges all over this country so that any poor man's son could go learn something new. When farms gave way to factories, a rich man's son named Teddy Roosevelt fought for an eight-hour workday, protection for workers, and busted monopolies that kept prices high and wages low. When millions lived in poverty, FDR fought for social security, and insurance for the unemployed, and a minimum wage. When millions died without health insurance, LBJ fought for Medicare and Medicaid. Together we forged a New Deal, declared a War on Poverty, and a Great Society. We built a ladder of opportunity to climb, and stretched out a safety net beneath so that if we fell it wouldn't be too far, and we could bounce back.”