Show Me the Money
- Huey Long wasn't a patient man, and it shows in this speech. He immediately jumps in with his talking points, most of which have been well-practiced up to this point during his career down in Louisiana.
- Right off the bat we get Long heading criticism off at the pass: he says that he only has 30 minutes for this speech, so can't give us too much detail. (It's hard to say in the wake of Long's assassination just how much detail there even was to this whole Share Our Wealth plan, but Long certainly never got the chance to elaborate.)
- From there Long starts to lay out what he sees as the central problem facing the U.S.: too much wealth is owned by way too few people.
- It's an easy problem to solve, but the solution's been blocked by the powerful and entrenched super-rich because it involves limiting their huge fortunes and scattering the wealth around.
- Long segues into the almost religious love that people have for the government, because our system of government and all the laws are just the best.
- But the government has neglected the fundamental values the country was founded on—remember those "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" lines from the Declaration of Independence? Not to mention the "all men are created equal" concept?
- Did the founders mean by "equal" that one child could inherit ten billion dollars and another would inherit zilch?
- Did they mean that one child would never have to work and still have more than enough for their needs, their children's needs, and their children's children's needs, while another would starve?
- Hint: no.
- And is it right that children are being born into a system where twelve men own more than 120 million?
- Wait for it: no.
- Long drives home the point that no one can think that it's serving the pursuit of happiness or all men being equal when millions of children are starving in a country that's filled to overflowing with food and clothing.
- Long knows his listeners will agree.