foxex: Independence Day

The Market Sum | Insight after the bell

By Caleb Silver, Editor in Chief

Thursday's Headlines

1. Independence Day

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, January 11, 1944

photo courtesy National Archives

It's Independence Day here in the U.S., marking the 243rd birthday of this country. Our stateside team has the day off, but we wanted to share a few thoughts and good reads with you on financial independence.

Many of us are fortunate enough to live in countries where we have the freedom to attain higher education, pursue our careers, earn a living, provide for our families, donate to charities, save for our future, and invest to grow our wealth. That's truly a privilege that I, for one, do not forsake.

This provides a lot of us with a head start that many people around the world do not enjoy. However, even in a democracy like the U.S., those freedoms were not always a guarantee. Government policy sometimes needs to be adjusted to clear a path allowing citizens to establish foundations on which to build their financial futures. That's what happened in this country in the mid-1940s.

FDR's Economic Bill of Rights

On January 11th, 1944, in his State of the Union Address to the U.S. Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed a Second Bill of Rights, or what he called "an economic bill of rights." His intention was to shore up the inadequacies of the first Bill of Rights as it pertained to the real pursuit of happiness. Roosevelt maintained that the first Bill only addressed political freedoms, but did not go far enough to guarantee the rights of people to financial security. The U.S. was in the grips of the second World War, a little over a decade removed from The Great Depression, and millions of people were still struggling for the most basic necessities.

Here's how FDR put it:

"We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure..."

In our day, these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed. Though we understand that we still have a long way to go.

Among these rights are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.

Despite FDR's patriarchal undertones (he was woke, but not on that issue), his take on the responsibility of the government to guarantee basic economic liberties is an important lesson for us. The U.S. has not and does not always uphold these rights—definitely not in the early days of this republic, and certainly not in moments since FDR's speech in 1944. But the notion that having economic freedom is our right as citizens is a precious privilege that we should take seriously, and take advantage of, if we can.

For all of us at Investopedia, that starts and ends with financial education. We've operated under that north star for nearly twenty years, and we'll never stop. Financial education is the first step to financial freedom. It may be an end none of us will ever reach, but the journey towards it can be very rewarding.

Financial Health

Financial independence starts with financial health. Our supreme personal finance editor, Julia Kagan, lays out the basics of what financial health really means.

Other good things:

12 Good Habits to Help You Find Financial Freedom

How to Declare Your Financial Independence

What is the Index of Economic Freedom?

Our Complete Guide to Personal Finance

WATCH: How Today's Money Celebrities Define Financial Freedom

We'll leave you with a final quote on this Independence Day. This, from Nelson Mandela, who knew a thing or two about freedom and the sacrifice it takes to achieve it.

"Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will."

– Nelson Mandela