Dec. 14, 2008
FDR's New Deal Blueprint For Obama
How The Revolutionary WPA Jobs Program Helped Move A Nation Mired In Depression And Redefined The American Worker
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New Deal Tourism
Officials hope for spike in tourism at New Deal-associated venues.
Anxiety and fear surround workers this holiday season. Last month, half a million people lost their jobs … more than 2 million have since last December.
"We need action, and action now," said President-elect Barack Obama. "That is why I have asked my economic team to develop an economic recovery plan for both Wall Street and Main Street that will help save or create two million jobs."
In 1933, another new president faced a collapsing economy, and rallied the nation with similar words:
"This nation is asking for action, and action now," said Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his first inaugural address.
Seventy-five years ago, FDR began the New Deal. What was truly new - in fact revolutionary - was his conviction that the federal government had a direct responsibility to create jobs, and to pay for them with tax dollars.
"Our greatest task is to put people back to work," he said.
"When Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated, 13 to 15 million people were out of work," said Nick Taylor, author of a new book called "American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA" (Bantam). "People standing in line, often rags for shoes, shuffling along in the snow to get a cup of soup or a piece of bread."
The book examines the Works Progress Administration. It was a complete break from Herbert Hoover and past presidents who believed that only corporations create jobs, and only private charities should take care of the poor.
"I mean, Hoover said, 'If only somebody could write a song or poem or tell a joke that would make people forget the Depression.' He wasn't doing anything about it in terms of the government's force.
"Okay, so in comes FDR. The first thing he did was to provide relief, direct relief. Chits. Some people got checks. Some people got surplus food stuffs. But eventually the idea was to provide jobs, to allow people the dignity of work."
The WPA lasted 8 years, from 1935 to 1943, and left a mark on America that is still visible today. It spent $11 billion dollars, employed eight and a half million people.
New roads were built - 650,000 miles of them. And new airports, including New York City's Laguardia Airport.
But it wasn't just about things. The public school lunch program got its start with WPA dollars.
"Attendance increased," Taylor said. "It was something that raised the health of the country."
FDR thought people needed places for recreation. So, the WPA repaired and enlarged the national park system, but Roosevelt and Harry Hopkins, the man who headed the WPA, knew there was more to life than bricks and mortar.
"The great thing that Roosevelt and Harry Hopkins recognized was that it made no sense whatsoever to take an excellent violin player and put him to work building a road," Taylor said. "He could provide, or she could provide, entertainment to people. And enlightenment! And that's why the WPA had an umbrella over arts projects as well as construction."
In 1941, Woody Guthrie was paid to write songs for a month as he visited the new dams under construction along the Columbia River in Washington State.
The WPA financed 225,000 concerts, with audiences of 150 million Americans. Actors appeared in stage productions all over the country. Artists painted murals on countless public buildings, like those at Lguardia's Marine Air Terminal in New York.
The WPA financed almost a half-million pieces of art. Some are on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington.
George Gurney, the deputy chief curator at the museum, said the WPA arts program was a godsend for many artists in the 1930s. "It allowed them to continue to work where they would not have been able to do so otherwise."
Gurney says many of the WPA works show the strength and promise of the country, such as Ray Strong's painting of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction.
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"Here was an artist showing what we were going to be able to do, what we can do. We are a nation that 'can do,'" said Gurney.
The country demands bold, persistent experimentation. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something!
Franklin Delano RooseveltEarle Richardson, who was African American, painted this scene of southern workers in the field.
"He was trying to convey that blacks in America contribute like everyone else," Gurney said.
Taylor says in the end-the very definition of the American worker was transformed by the WPA: "To envision the worker not as a commodity but as a resource."
And now President-elect Obama is talking about his own jobs program that could cost half a trillion dollars.
Economic analyst Jeff Madrick believes Obama is also sending a very clear message.
"Well, I think the government is back and we're all the better for it," Madrick said. "In fact, the government has been away at least since Ronald Reagan."
Madrick recently published a book,
"If we spend money at the federal level at propitious times, we can get that bottom we're talking about and begin to recover as well," he said. "Unemployment comes down. Incomes rise again."
And as FDR did in the 1930s with the WPA, the new president's program starts with roads, highways and bridges.
"Our infrastructure is a mess," Madrick said. "Our education needs reform. We're not attended to our energy needs, people well know now."
"But who's going to pay for big government?" asked Reid.
"I think down the road higher taxes, even on the middle class, and I know this is anathema right now, will be necessary to pay for the social programs we need."
Like all government programs, the WPA was not without critics. The term "boondoggle" was coined to describe some of its projects. WPA , they said, stood for "we putter around."
And today, as back in Roosevelt's time, some question whether government stimulus programs really work.
Alan Viard, an economist with the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said, "I think it's a bad idea to be doing a large multi-hundred-billion dollar program of infrastructure spending on short notice.
"I really have two concerns," Viard said. "One is that spending is not going to be quick enough to stimulate the economy. And the second is that it's not going to be good investments for the long run."
"And if they're not good investments, what happens?" Reid asked. \
"Then it means we have wasted hundreds of billions of dollars, piling up additional debt for us and our children."
History shows that Roosevelt's WPA lifted millions out of poverty, though author Nick Taylor does not believe the New Deal ended the Depression.
"Obviously the Depression ended with World War II and the humming factories that were producing munitions and tanks and planes and uniforms and everything else that funded the war effort," he said.
Yet in a time of serious economic stress and fear, Taylor writes that FDR had some advice the new president could use. Roosevelt said: "The country demands bold, persistent experimentation. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something!"
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See all 112 CommentsThe video evidence follows:
He has walked with and comforted people whose homes were being foreclosed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i_GWrYkcCI
Defined the %u201CGreat Moral Test of Our Generation%u201D:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS1x88ZmohM
He has visited workers employed in the new renewal energy economy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50yOR5bvMV0
John Edwards is, also, the only candidate for President that actually went down to New Orleans on several occasions and worked along side those striving to try to bring back the areas that remain so devastated from the effects of Hurricane Katrina:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAqktFnA4nk&feature=PlayList&p=EB1EC8919DC5DC52&index=0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DaofQCkbA8
He has the ''blue-prints'' but he has to make sure that he reads the part where FDR went back to a 2 tier CREDIT SYSTEM with interest rates that rewarded ''investment'' over ''consumption''.
He must also go back to the same ''gold standard'' and fixed-exchange-rates under Bretton Woods in 1944.
That will give us ''sound money'' as Ron Paul would like to say and it will pave the way out of this Bush/Hannity/Limbaugh-Depression.
But first he must...
CANCEL OVER A QUADRILLION IN DERIVATES NOW!!!
If he follows FDR to the ''T'' then we will be out of this Bush/Hannity/Limbaugh-Depression in no time!
Posted by mr22258 at 11:55 AM : Dec 14, 2008,
Obama does not start his new job until January 20th. Considering your comment I do have a question.
So what do you have to say about Bushs presidency and legacy it will have?
I have grave doubts that EVEN "Big Government" can stop the slide
....(Madrick continues)"If we spend money at the federal level at propitious times, we can get that bottom we''re talking about and begin to recover as well," he said. "Unemployment comes down. Incomes rise again." "Our infrastructure is a mess...Our education needs reform. We''re not attended to our energy needs, people well know now."
Now comes the $64000 question:
"But who''s going to pay for big government?" asked Reid.
This is where we need buyin from the "have mosts". According to a report by the Federal Reserve "Currents and Undercurrents:Changes in Distribution of Wealth 1989-2004" the wealthiest 5% of us own 55.5 % of our assets. That translates to about 28 trillion (yes, trillion) dollars. The rich are going to have to step up to the plate and donate some of that pile to get this new "New Deal" up and rolling. It is NOT up to the poor or the middle class who had little or no hand in creating our financial meltdown to subsidize our national rebuilding. Besides we don''t have the financial means to do it.
I said earlier that even this may not be enough but the only other option is continue doing business as usual and that has already proven to be a monumental failure.
That''s just what we need! Higher taxes! More PUBLIC jobs with the salary paid for in full by the rest of the population! And we NEED more social programs!
What a joke Obama is going to be. Invest money into the private sector and not into government labor that taxpayers pay for. NO MORE SOCIAL PROGRAMS! My generation and the next generation are going to have to foot the bill for the baby boomers, a bill that is going to cost trillions.
Of course, this is the "Change we can all believe in"--change being more of my money gets redistributed to someone else.
"Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy....."
"Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy....."
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Posted by billpl
Rewriting history, are you there, Bill? Bush''s ''legacy'' team is looking for people like you. People who can change the past... at least in the minds of lemmings.
"TAX THE *** OUT OF THE AVARICIOUS RICH! REDISTRIBUTE THE MONEY THEY''''VE STOLEN FROM AMERICA!"
I like how you assume that every rich person stole money from you when in fact 99% of them earned it fairly and with hard work. Just because you are not as successful does not mean that you have the right to force others to pay more taxes than you. You have no right to leech off what other people earn either.
"RETURN THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE"
Haha, its so ridiculous that you would support a bill that suppress free speech and press. Radio stations have the right to do what they want with their airwaves, whether that be having Rush Limbaugh or Rosie O''donnell. Government has NO right to tell them what they can and cannot do.
"RETURN WALL STREET REGULATION (Glass Steagall)"
That''s right! Drive up costs and send us into an even bigger recession. Food will cost more. Manufactured stuff will cost more. Everything will cost more because you want to add regulations on how they are made or controlled. Idiot.
"RETURN PROGRESSIVE TAXATION"
How about no! Why should the rich have to pay 95% of their taxes (like they did in the Great Depression) so that morons like you can have everything given to you for free. The closer we get to a flat tax (where everyone pays an equal percentage of their income), the more FAIR things are.
Posted by mr22258 at 12:08 PM : Dec 14, 2008,
This is funny! How can anyone believe Bush has done a great job?
Lets see..He inherits a 234 billion budget surplus and replaces it with a huge deficit...so large that it has doubled the public debt.
He has lead us to victory in the war on terror? Come on, do you care to comment on the whereabouts of OBL?
If Iraq was so justified, why did the cherry pick evidence to build support for a war that was clearly optional?
I could go on, but your hero is responsible for state of this country because he was the leader for the last 8 years, that cannot end soon enough!
No, the Japanese and Germans did it for me.
The failure of FDR''s first plan was proven 50 years later, by the collapse of the USSR.
...besides, Obama''s plan is supposed to modeled after Eisenhower not FDR.
This whole article is just CBS blowing smoke out their a-ss-es.
At the same time, while this is true, it is important to recognize what the New Deal did do. Millions of families were better able to support themselves through difficult times because of it. The country received improvements that were needed (infrastructure) and enjoyable (state parks).
Don''t talk about slave labor. New Deal programs paid low wages by design, as I think any new program should. This was done to maximize the number of people who could be helped and to make higher paying private employment when it was availalbe more attractive than government relief jobs.
I hope Obama can give the people the hope they need to bring this country back to a time when we can feel proud to say "I am an American."
No, the Japanese and Germans did it for me.
The failure of FDR''''s first plan was proven 50 years later, by the collapse of the USSR.
...besides, Obama''''s plan is supposed to modeled after Eisenhower not FDR.
This whole article is just CBS blowing smoke out their a-ss-es.
Posted by billpl at 01:01 PM : Dec 14, 2008
Idaho and Eastern Washington would not have farms without the New Deal Water projects. There would be limited roads, bridges, sewers, schools, power stations, city halls and more.
The problem with these projects that lifted up those tossed to the gutter, is the very fact that it did lift them. A healthy educated populace would compete against a rigged Elite power structure of old money and privilege. Either you are a beneficiary of said power structure or you are a tool; which is it?
How about no! Why should the rich have to pay 95% of their taxes (like they did in the Great Depression) so that morons like you can have everything given to you for free. The closer we get to a flat tax (where everyone pays an equal percentage of their income), the more FAIR things are.
Posted by indivthinker at 12:35 PM : Dec 14, 2008
You are intentionally exaggerating the percentage of taxes paid with in the constraints of our progressive taxation system. You also ignore the fact that Progressive Taxation is an American tradition that started with our founding fathers as a means to cripple the nature of accumulated wealth and it destructive nature on Democracies. It is as imperative to Democracy as the separation of church and state.
"HAPPINESS, moral duty, and a progressive income tax are inseparably connected."
-- George Washington
"I only regret that I have but a small percentage of my income to give for my country."
-- Nathan Hale
"WHEN in the course of Human Events, it becomes necessary to fund a Welfare State, he that has the most to give, should provide the greatest proportion of his Income."
"THE Tree of Liberty is a fragile one. Its Roots must occasionally be watered by soaking the Rich."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"THESE are the times that try men''s souls. The wealthy summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country, by refusing to pay their fair, high share of taxes."
-- Tom Paine
The depression was messy, complicated and long due to several factors - including FDR''s capitulations of 35 and 36, and probably more a short depression followed by several long, deep recessions.
The WPA was messy - mostly because it had never been tried before and was entirely seat-of-the-pants. We were an entirely different population with entirely different expectations of our lives.
Don''t forget, this was the first industrial population forced to band together to create something new - don''t even dream of comparing it to the feudal society that was the USSR.
There is no reason to expect that today''s American population is incapable of developing new skills and
learning new workplace languages, IF we''re serious about getting on with their lives.
Yes - the war finally cleaned it up but, without FDR and his policies there''s a very real possibility that our continent would have sunk into to same mire as Europe. Don''t forget that Huey Long was waiting in the wings and might well have been President if he hadn''t been asassinated. He was no different than Mussolini or Franco. AND don''t forget that Prescott Bush and Henry Ford, among others of power were SUPPORTERS of Hitler!
Globalization: To compress wages around the world in order to free up capital and put it in the hands of the oligarchy. Once all capital is in the hands of the rich then they can assume the role of government in deciding who and to what will receive money.
By canceling WTO, GAT, and NAFTA, and then shut-down the international parasitical operations of usury such as the IMF/WORLD BANK, BIS (Bank of International Settlements), and the Federal Reserve System.
That cycle feeds on itself until the entire financial system shuts down.
And they plan to follow FDR''s game plan, so we can expect an historic depression--just like the 1930''s.
Better schools;
Safer roads;
More parks and rec centers;
More bike paths and lanes.
And, most importantly, investment in alternative energy sources.
That cycle feeds on itself until the entire financial system shuts down.
So that means the baied out banks will just hoard the ''bail out'' money and give it to people trying to withdrawal from hedge-funds associated with these banks.
So really we are ''monetizing'' derivatives and it will be impossible because there exists over a quadrillion in derivatives associated with these banks and hedge funds.
This is why all hedge-funds, buy-out-firms, and private-equity-groups must be shut-down because it''s a bottomless pit.
You also ignore the fact that Progressive Taxation is an American tradition that started with our founding fathers as a means to cripple the nature of accumulated wealth and it destructive nature on Democracies. It is as imperative to Democracy as the separation of church and state.
"HAPPINESS, moral duty, and a progressive income tax are inseparably connected."
-- George Washington
...
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Posted by Fahren451 at 01:59 PM : Dec 14, 2008
You are very wrong.
The income tax didnt even exist until the Civil war and it was declared unconstitutional in 1895!
In 1913 a constitutional amendment (the 13th) was passed to resurect it.
The quotes you cite are a spoof. You can find them at a web site called Point/Counterpoint
http://www.ptvcpt.com/2008/06/when-in-course-of-human-events-it.html
or another Trasterrestial Musings.
http://www.transterrestrial.com/archives/003086.html
In another reference you can find that people earning over the average wage pay 95% of the expenses in this country. But I leave that research to you.
The middle class worker is the ofundation on which this entire ocuntry was built... keep stripping away our wages, our health care and our retrirement and I will guarantee everyone this ocuntry will continue to slide into a 2 class country.. the mega rich and everyone else.
trickle down economics has killed America, Americans and the American dream... get the money down low and we will spend and invest and everyone above us will benefit from that. Allow the wlethy to hog the welath, recieve the tax breaks and you get what we are seeing today.
problem in the red state people and Bush voters have already proven how retarded they are on how blind they are to the sitiuation and will continue to help sink this ocuntry.
Better schools;
Safer roads;
More parks and rec centers;
More bike paths and lanes.
And, most importantly, investment in alternative energy sources.
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Posted by cyberDJs4 at 02:24 PM : Dec 14, 2008
Is that because the government has done everything else so well for us? Im sure we can trust them to do these things much better than we can. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid can pass the laws, Obama can make the speaches. Not just a new deal, a whole new day with HOPE and CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN. Makes you wonder why we need any substance at all doesnt it.
These so-called ''buy-out-groups'' are part of a fascist empire on Wall Street and the City of London and the oligarchs that run them fund terrorism, fake revolutions to cause instability for booms and busts.
We have to shut-down this garbage once and for all.
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Posted by RowdynTex at 02:28 PM : Dec 14, 2008--
You are right that income tax came in 1913 when Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act.
However if you look at what happened more closely you will see that it was a compromise so that now the private banks who basicly had the power of government to ''utter money and credit'', had a duty at the same time to take a percentage of that money and give it back to government.
Even die-hard ''free traders'' like Mitt Romney understand that ''free-markets'' have their limits.
Asset?
That''s right out of the old British concepts of serfdom where they look at people as cattle or assets.
Then hedge-funds and investment banks like Lehman Brothers on Wall Street can ''structure finance'' these ''assets'' and use it as collateral so ''buy-out-firms'' can loot whole industries and nations around the world.
That''s what globalization has done for us folks.
We''ve been looted.
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Posted by RowdynTex at 02:39 PM : Dec 14, 2008--
You are absolutely right.
However if you want to stop that then you must shut-down the Federal Reserve System so that it cannot ''print money'' at will and then leave the bill to the tax payer.
Globalization has failed us.
Now that we are waking up and realizing that we are slaves on this gigantic ''debt plantation'' the Master Wall Street is punishing us by companies laying off workers etc.
So it is like a tyrrany of empire where if we refuse to borrow money then we are punished with no food and shelter from the weather.
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Posted by downsteamjim at 03:03 PM : Dec 14, 2008--
I don''t understand what you are saying...
We need a Renassaince in this country.
That''s why our forefathers came here in the 1700 to leave the feudalism and the Dark Age that started in Europe during the 1400s.
And that Dark Age was started by the exact same thing--worthless-structured-finance-derivatives.
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Posted by downsteamjim at 03:10 PM : Dec 14, 2008--
I have a job but I''m afraid of being layed off.
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Posted by downsteamjim at 03:12 PM : Dec 14, 2008--
What''s obvious from your post is that you want this ''New Dark Age'' that is unfolding to run its course.
And I''m saying NO...We are better then this!
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Posted by downsteamjim at 03:10 PM : Dec 14, 2008--
By the way, I don''t borrow money, never have and I don''t keep worthless Federal Reserve Notes as savings, I have real gold coins that are non confiscatable.
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