The Case for a New WPA

[marmar]

from YES! Magazine:



The Case for a New WPA
Why many are calling for a modern incarnation of the Depression-era program.

by Kate McCormack
posted Jul 12, 2010



The image catches your breath. The look etched on the mother’s face reveals more about the hard lives of migrant workers during the 1930s than any history book. The photo, by Dorothea Lange, is one of the most famous shots in American history and an iconic representation of the Great Depression. Lange captured it while participating in the Farm Security Administration’s photography project, a division of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

In 1933, when Franklin Roosevelt took office with the promise of government action to relieve destitution, unemployment had reached nearly 25 percent. As part of that commitment, his administration created the WPA, a permanent jobs program that put 8.5 million Americans to work between 1935 and 1943. The WPA was a massive public undertaking that changed the face of a growing nation. In addition to providing jobs to millions, it brought the nation’s transportation system into the 20th century and brought art to people of all classes, leaving the U.S. with a rich legacy of oral history and artistic masterpieces.

Many organizations are calling for a modern incarnation of the WPA both to assist the nation’s 6.5 million long-term unemployed and to advance national priorities, from transitioning to clean energy to modernizing infrastructure to supporting the arts. A new WPA could help support:

Jobs

The first WPA provided jobs to millions, it brought the nation’s transportation system into the 20th century, and brought art to people of all classes.

In 1938 the WPA was the largest employer in the nation. For every job it created, two jobs in the private sector were created indirectly. Today, with unemployment seemingly stuck above nine percent and concerns that young workers will never fully recover from slow-starting careers, a new WPA, like its predecessor, could be the answer. The WPA was an important strategy for lowering unemployment and reducing the human suffering of economic recession. Government can hire people that the private sector typically does not: the long-term unemployed, young people without work experience, people from chronically underemployed populations, older workers nearing retirement, and workers with criminal backgrounds. Job experience and training can help these workers move into new industries for the long term. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/the-case-for-a-new-wpa

[H2O Man]

1. Definitely

recommended, definitely needed.

[Ozymanithrax]

2. A good idea, but will not get through the Senate. n/t

[RKP5637]

3. Excellent!!! n/t

[Oregone]

4. Extending the Bush tax cuts is more "pragmatic"

[4_TN_TITANS]

5. WPA and the CCC...

We just spent last week camping at a state park made by the CCC. There's a lot of good that could come from people directly hired by the government, not through contracted work.