The forgotten man always pays

Nick Massey

In 1883, Yale professor of political economy and sociology William Graham Sumner wrote an essay that easily could have been written for today. He was writing against the so-called “Progressives” of his day and defending what was then called “classical liberalism.” The Progressives of that day could be compared to what some consider “liberal” today and the latter the “free market capitalists” of today. This essay became titled “The Forgotten Man.” Bloomberg columnist Amity Shlaes recently wrote a terrific book by the same title. Sumner essentially was saying that well-intentioned social progressives often forced unaware average citizens into paying for what many considered questionable social projects.

Sumner wrote: “As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine what C shall do for X, or in the better case, what A, B, and C shall do for X. But what about C? There was nothing wrong with A and B helping X. What was wrong was the law, and the indenturing of C to the cause. What I want to do is look up C. I want to show you what manner of man he is. I call him the Forgotten Man. He is the man who never is thought of, the forgotten man. He works, he votes, generally he prays — but he always pays.”

To put it more simply, let’s fix somebody’s perceived problem and make someone else pay for it. Does this theme sound vaguely familiar? In Sumner’s day, the idea of forcing taxpayers into paying for entitlements or social projects was largely unheard of. Today it is the norm. Of course, the federal government was almost insignificant in size compared to the private sector then.

Prior to 1932, federal spending was still a small percentage of the national economy. This time period was the beginning of the progressive movement that has grown and morphed into something today that Sumner could never have imagined. Today we have endless arguments about whether this is a good thing or not.

In 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt was running for office, he found the Forgotten Man phrase and used it in his campaign. However, he changed the meaning. Roosevelt’s Forgotten Man was “the Forgotten Man at the bottom of the economic pyramid” and he promised he would act to assist this man. Roosevelt’s New Deal forgotten man was the poor man, the old man, the laborer or any other recipient of government aid. Roosevelt’s ideas on behalf of this version of the Forgotten Man started a new type of politics. To justify giving to one Forgotten Man, he had to make a scapegoat of another. Businessmen and businesses became the targets. Sound familiar again?

The real Forgotten Man, however, was not part of any political group and therefore suffered the negatives of the time.

As Shlaes wrote in her book, “He was the man who paid for the big projects, who got make-work instead of real work. He was the man who waited for economic growth that did not come. He was the man who was trying to get along without welfare while the weight of the economic burden fell upon him.”

Why do I bring this up? With just 31 days to what may be one of the most important presidential elections in history, we are full speed ahead into the season of promises. This is the time when all politicians tell you how things ought to be, who should be helped and how they are going to make it happen. And it always sounds so good. Who wouldn’t be for all the wonderful things promised and the utopian life we all want and deserve? After all, didn’t the Declaration of Independence say that we were entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Notice that it says “pursuit” not “guarantee” and it says nothing about a guarantee of prosperity.

My goal is not to endorse any particular candidate or idea. You need to decide that for yourself. Instead, I suggest you step back for a moment and really think about what is being promised by everyone. Then ask yourself, “Who pays and how?” In most cases you will realize that the Forgotten Man pays. As Sumner said, “He works, he votes — but he always pays.” Who is the Forgotten Man or Woman today? It’s you! Consider your vote carefully. Thanks for reading.

NICK MASSEY is a financial adviser and owner of Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialists in Edmond. He is also a frequent guest analyst on CNBC and Bloomberg.