Thank God for the Great Depression - It's the only way the safety net got passed.

[reformist2]

And even then, FDR's fight for SSI, Unemployment Insurance, etc. was hardly a walk in the park. But Wall Street was discredited and humiliated sufficiently that they had no real power to stop FDR's reforms.

Little did anyone know then that that would pretty much be it for economic reform for over a generation. In hindsight, the 1930s was possibly the only time our government *wasn't* 100% controlled by Wall Street.

[datasuspect]

1. the prospect of socialism or communism taking root among the unwashed masses

scared the patrician FDR into operating as a statesman.

[Spike89]

2. Related...massive unemployment

It wasn't simply the depression, or even the "threat" of communism/socialism. What stoked the urgency of FDR was the tens of thousands of unemployed young men swept off the plains by the dustbowl. A literal army of nearly hopeless men were milling around in every large city, including D.C.. Although they were not organized or even truly united--they were an undeniable powder keg that a rogue spark could set off.
FDR began by coming up with programs to get those angry mobs into programs in the rural areas. It was only partially for the economy.
When our government fears the people, it can do some amazing things and can do them quickly.