11 December 1934, Washington DC, USA
Huey Long started the Share Our Wealth movement. He was an FDR suppoerter who became disillusioned with the New Deal, and wanted to tax the super-rich, introduce death duties, and increase property taxes on the super-rich. Share Our Wealth rallies were attended around the nation. Long was assassinated in 1935.
According to the tables which we have assembled, it is our estimate, that four percent of the American people own 85 percent of the wealth of America.
And that over 70% of the people of America don’t own enough to pay the debts that they owe.
How many men ever went to a barbecue and would let one man take off the table what's intended for 9/10th of the people to eat? The only way to be able to feed the balance of the people is to make that man come back and bring back some of that grub that he ain't got no business with!
Now we got a barbecue. We have been praying to the Almighty to send us to a feast. We have knelt on our knees morning and nighttime. The Lord has answered the prayer. He has called the barbecue. "Come to my feast," He said to 125 million American people. But Morgan and Rockefeller and Mellon and Baruch have walked up and took 85 percent of the victuals off the table!
Now, how are you going to feed the balance of the people? What's Morgan and Baruch and Rockefeller and Mellon going to do with all that grub? They can't eat it, they can't wear the clothes, they can't live in the houses.
Giv'em a yacht! Giv'em a Palace! Send 'em to Reno and give them a new wife when they want it, if that's what they want. But when they've got everything on God's loving earth that they can eat and they can wear and they can live in, and all that their children can live in and wear and eat, and all of their children's children can use, then we've got to call Mr Morgan and Mr Mellon an Mr Rockefeller back and say, come back here, put that stuff back on this table here that you took away from here that you don't need. Leave something else for the American people to consume. And that's the program.