On January 11, 1944, when President Roosevelt presented his State of the Union address to Congress, the United States was
optimistic. The country was in a state of economic recovery and Roosevelt looked to the future with confidence and opened his speech with promises of a positive new
economy. This paper supports Roosevelt's strong argument that the
government should support entitlements. With more employment at decent wages, the economy will undoubtedly be more productive, achieve higher levels of responsible and sustainable growth and provide greater revenues. The paper argues that the U.S. government should assume an active role in improving the quality of life for all Americans.