At the beginning, in 1935, the WPA budget was 1.4 billion a year, over all, the total spent was about 13.4 billion. In 1938 jobs were provided for 3 million men, some women and youths. Between 1935 and 1942, eight million jobs were provided. The stated goal of the WPA was to provide one job for each family in which the breadwinner was experiencing long term unemployment. Most people who needed a job were eligible. No more than 30 hours could be worked by any worker in one week.
Depressions can be devastating and they don’t end of their own accord. We hope that the Republicans, the Tea Party, the citizen activists won’t continue to oppose the president's every plan. We further hope that the grass root citizens will take the time to form for themselves some ideology, for a basis for reasoning and action. For those good Americans who just want to get out there and “do something!” there’s no need to worry. The future will provide more than enough opportunity for citizen participation. Now is the time to study, and to think.
Article comments
1 - thomas quill
THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT,THE BRITISH ARE COMING,THE BRITISH ARE COMING,THOSE COLUMBUS'S BOAT PEOPLE ARE ALREADY HERE IN INDIAN COUNTRY ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONINTENT
2 - Glenn Contrarian
John -
As I've pointed out many times, the Republicans (including the TP'ers) don't dare allow the American economy to recover on Obama's watch. Why? FDR came in, fixed what the Republicans screwed up, and gave us the New Deal. Clinton came in, took a bad economy and turned the deficit into a surplus (but sabotaged our manufacturing base by agreeing with the conservatives on NAFTA et al). If Obama is able to turn the economy around, that makes for a heck of a talking point in any election.
If Obama succeeds, the Republicans will have a three-strikes-you're-out reputation, economically speaking...and that would hobble them politically for generations to come.
And the Republicans aren't dumb - they KNOW this. That's why they dare not let Obama succeed, even though much of what Obama has done has been directly in line with what Republicans have strongly supported in the past.
3 - Diane TEA Party
Glenn - big difference of opinion! Conservatives know the economy can not recovery under Obama because of the anti-business regulations, EPA threats to close coal fired electric plants and regulate practically everything, high gas prices caused by failure to issue permits and blocking drilling, printing money that de-values the dollar, ObamaCare, - and this is just a partial list! Under FDR, who did a lot of the same things, the Depression lasted 10 years, long after the rest of the world recovered. The private sector has to lead us out and under Obama they can't! Government is not the solution - it's the problem!
4 - Glenn Contrarian
Diane -
Read your history again. Look up the "Conservative Coalition". By 1936 we were largely OUT of the Depression, but later that same year the conservatives FORCED FDR to back off of much of what he tried to do with the New Deal. As a DIRECT result of the austerity measures they FORCED on FDR and the nation, we went right back down into the Depression.
Again, look up that "Conservative Coalition" and educate yourself.
One more thing - if government stimuli didn't work, then WWII should have driven us FAR further into economic depression. Instead, the taxpayer-funded (by way of loans) economic stimulus left America in a stronger economic position than she'd ever been in. And you know what? At the end of WWII, we had an even greater national debt (relative to GDP) than we do now! But we nearly paid it off during the 1950's thanks to Truman and the Republican president Eisenhower maintaining the top marginal tax rate (for the uber-rich) at 90%!
Read that again - we nearly paid off the entire national debt in a decade...largely because of the high tax rates our government charged the uber-rich!
I'm not sure if you remember, but back in the early 80's during the recession, we Republicans (I was one then) used to say "we just need a good war to get us out of this recession"...and the reason we were saying it was because of the economic stimulus of WWII.
Again, read your history. Educate yourself. I used to be a Republican...but the Republicans of Reagan's day wouldn't even recognize what the GOP has become. The GOP of today (and especially the Tea Party) would call Reagan a raving socialist for several of the policies he supported!
5 - Igor
Diane,
Oil is fungible, therefore 80% of ALL oil goes to foreigners (India, China, etc.) and only 20% to the US, so increased drilling harms the USA. (Also, oil companies are 60% foreign owned so subsidies, etc., go mostly to foreigners).
The government actually prints very little money (there´s only about $900billion in US cash in circulation, about half paper money), just enough printed to replace worn bills each year. Increasing the money supply is done by issuing instruments to banks, computer to computer, no printing required.
The USA is in a favorable position, vis a vis, other nations so we can borrow at advantageous rates, like 2%, so we should, and plow the money into infrastructure.
They should teach this stuff in the high schools. But I suppose it would diminish the ability of demagogues to rule through ignorance and fear.