We could have continued the New Deal; instead, we've created a nightmarish culture of financial predation, economic misery, and poverty-related death

Above: FDR statue, at the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC. Photo by Carol Highsmith and provided courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The misery that has been imposed upon us, and the New Deal solution that we've pathologically rejected

In a recent Facebook post, a parent noted his/her financial struggles, and how there did not seem to be any help or hope of escaping from it: "I’m struggling deeply. I feel overwhelmed by constant financial pressure, and I’m lost. I don’t have resources to fall back on, and I don’t know where to turn. There are millionaires and billionaires in this world, yet I can’t seem to get any kind of help. Charities exist, government programs exist, but they feel unreachable. Assistance is based on gross income, not on what’s actually left after garnishments and bills. On paper, I look like I should be okay but in real life, I’m barely surviving."

This person is not alone. Financial misery and desperation is widespread in the United States. The news site MarketWatch frequently surveys and reports on issues related to financial stress. Consider these headlines:

"Americans are plagued by financial anxiety — and it’s only getting worse," May 8, 2018.

"Most Americans can’t afford life anymore — and they just don’t matter to the economy like they once did," March 7, 2025.

"Financial Stress Survey: 65% of Americans Say Finances Are Their Biggest Source of Stress," July 11, 2025. (In this article, we learn that "About 41% agreed [with the statement] that 'my finances have destroyed my mental health,' and a majority (57%) said they feel they have to 'choose between prioritizing' their finances or their mental health...")

"NFCC Reveals Financial Strain is the New Normal for American Households," November 19, 2025.

"One in five Americans can’t afford their heating bills this winter as people are blindsided by utility costs," January 23, 2026. 

And of course, it's not just MarketWatch reporting on the financial misery of Americans:

"Rich People Don’t Just Live Longer. They Also Get More Healthy Years." New York Times, January 16, 2020.

"Around half of older Americans can’t afford essential expenses: report," The Hill, July 25, 2022.

"Poverty is the 4th greatest cause of U.S. deaths," University of California, Riverside, April 17, 2023.

"Healthcare Insights: How Medical Debt Is Crushing 100 Million Americans," ILR Scheinman Institute, Cornell University, October 21, 2024.

"Most Americans can't afford a $1,000 emergency expense, report finds," CBS News, January 23, 2025.  

"In every corner of the country, the middle class struggles with affordability," Brookings Institute, December 2, 2025. 

"‘We spent $10,000 in four months’: how an emergency car repair can gut a US family’s finances: A $1,000 fix is out of reach for many Americans – and so is good public transportation," The Guardian, December 20, 2025.

At the same time that working-class Americans are getting financially pummeled, and dying prematurely due to the problems associated with poverty, the wealthiest Americans are getting richer and richer and richer. Forbes reports: "Tariffs. Inflation. Slowing employment. None of it has hit the fortunes of America’s billionaires. The 400 richest people in the U.S. are worth a record $6.6 trillion after getting $1.2 trillion richer over the past year amid surging stock markets and AI mania."

And we know that the super-rich, by and large, are not spending their days contemplating how to help alleviate the struggles of the working-class (recall that Facebook post above). No, what they're doing instead is hoarding wealth and seeking ever-greater and more "sustainable luxury."

FDR famously said, "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

America has utterly failed that test of progress.

We could expand Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; we could enhance union participation (which in turn enhances wages and benefits); we could tax the super-rich at much higher rates. In other words, we could do more of the things that the New Deal did or facilitated in decades past - things that created the world's greatest middle-class and breathed life into both the General Welfare clause of the Constitution and the American Dream itself. 

But we won't do those things. Our politics, media, and voters are so jacked up on culture wars--e.g., the Democrats' obsession with identity politics, MAGA's rabies-like anger over diversity, equity, and inclusion, and Fox News and its ilk profiting off cultural hate and dysfunction--that we (collectively speaking) are willing to let ourselves be economically bludgeoned to death by the financial elite.

And make no mistake about it: This is exactly what the super-wealthy want, especially those on the right. They want us so bound up in anger and hate towards one another that we have no energy or attention left to combat their gluttonous and homicidal greed. They want us foaming at the mouth and fighting against each other over matters of immigration, LGBTQ, and guns - and not on matters of economic fairness. And we have dutifully and stupidly obliged them. This is why, for example, you see a majority of Republican voters in support of Social Security and tax increases on the rich, but consistently voting for politicians who attack those policies. They're voting on cultural issues, not on enhancing Social Security, and not on increasing inheritance taxes on billionaires and their nepo babies - nepo babies who will one day lord over us with increasingly vicious actions and public policy.

In sum, Americans across the political spectrum are getting financially beaten to death; and they agree on many of the economic policies that would help them avoid the beating. But they can't come together for candidate selection and voting because the super-wealthy have them enlisted in the Great Culture War. They're dying on the economic battlefield--one financial wretch slaying another--as their wealthy puppet masters giggle from above.

FDR's Economic Bill of Rights vs. The Modern Sociopath Society: The financial persecution of the aged, the infirm, and their family caregivers

Above: President Franklin Roosevelt, ca. 1936. Photo from an uncredited postcard, and scanned from a personal copy.

FDR's Economic Bill of Rights and Old Age Illness: The path not taken

In his 1944 Second Bill of Rights speech, President Franklin Roosevelt advocated for the right of all Americans, "regardless of station, race, or creed," to have "The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health; The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment."

There were gains made in these areas during the New Deal--e.g., Social Security, and more healthcare services and facilities--and also in the first few decades after the New Deal--e.g., Medicare and Medicaid--but since then, with a few exceptions, it has been mostly downhill, mostly a rejection of FDR's Economic Bill of Rights in favor of a brutal, every-man-for-himself sort of public policy. Indeed, if Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid did not exist today--thanks to the legislation of years past--bills to create them would not pass in today's right-wing and neoliberal Congress.

In the realm of old age and family caregiving, there are indications (and in some cases clear evidence), that among the 53 million family caregivers in the U.S., there is extreme financial strain, an increased risk of bankruptcy, a risk of homelessness, higher rates of depression, and more frequent suicide ideation.

One might think, "Well, for goodness sake, don't try to take care of the person yourself, get them into a nursing home!" But there are serious physical and financial catastrophes associated with nursing homes as well, for example: Lack of appropriate funding (leading to staffing shortages and thus an increased risk of elder abuse); the requirement that nursing home patients be forcefully impoverished before Medicaid kicks in, leaving them with little or no means to protect their house and property (and here, it is important to note that many nursing home residents end up being discharged back to their homes - so it is important to maintain their homes in some modest manner); Medicaid Estate Recovery, which is a means for nursing homes to seize a deceased person's house (potentially forcing the former family caregiver into homelessness); debt collector harassment of family members to pay bills; and nursing homes discharging patients to "homeless shelters and rundown motels." The latter is called "patient dumping," which one law firm describes this way:

"It comes down to money. Nursing homes prioritize residents who bring in higher reimbursements, such as those covered by private insurance or short-term Medicare benefits. When a resident’s coverage changes--often when they transition to Medicaid--the nursing home suddenly finds a reason to discharge them... Residents who rely on Medicaid for long-term care bring in lower reimbursements, making them a financial target."

For many family caregivers and care recipients, it is a no-win situation. Family caregiving at the home runs a high risk of financial catastrophe, and nursing home placement runs a high risk of financial catastrophe.

Why is this happening? The reasons are many and complex, but the overarching reason is simple and straightforward. As a society, we have chosen selfishness and greed over FDR's call for economic security for all. We have prioritized tax cuts for the 1%--so that they can acquire sustainable luxury--over the common good, over the well-being of the elderly, the infirm, and those who care for them.

We have rejected FDR's advocacy for a Second Bill of Rights and rejected the New Deal and it ethos. In their place we have built, and are continuing to build a sociopathic (if not gleefully sadistic) society. I hate to put it that way, because there are many caring people who exist within this sociopath society, but the evidence, experience, and outcomes are so utterly clear. When we are impoverishing millions of family caregivers and care recipients, putting them in constant fear, while at the same time giving massive tax cuts to people who already dominate so much of our nation's wealth--so they can pursue more luxury, political power, and family legacy (a.k.a., our economic caste system)--and fail to stop it, year after year, decade after decade, that is sociopathy.

America, look in the mirror and tell me what you see. I've already told you what I see.  

New Deal Rugs: Craftsmanship, employment, recreation, job training, therapy, thrift, and social welfare

Above: The description for this 1941 photograph reads: "Farm worker's wife making hooked rug in sewing class. A WPA (Work Projects Administration) project at the FSA (Farm Security Administration) labor camp. Caldwell, Idaho." During the New Deal, many classes were conducted to teach people how to make products out of scrap material, either for sale (to make a little money) or home use (to save a little money). Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration, and provided courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: A WPA hook rug project in the Virgin Islands, between 1935 and 1943. The description for this photograph reads, "These women are adept at all handicrafts, and the products are both artistic and colorful." Photo from the National Archives.

Above: Another view of the WPA hook rug project in the Virgin Islands (see previous photo). The description for this photograph reads, "Under this project women have been taught to hook rugs. It has been so successful and a market has been found for the rugs that it is hoped this industry will continue." Photo from the National Archives.

Above: New Deal rug-making projects in the Virgin Islands had started even earlier than the WPA, for example, this project in the Civil Works Administration (CWA, 1933-1934). Photo from: Henry G. Alsberg, America Fights the Depression: A Photographic Record of the Civil Works Administration, New York: Coward-McCann Publishers, 1934, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: This photo was taken in Miami, Florida, between 1935 and 1943, and the description for it reads, "Women of all ages find rug making a very interesting and profitable activity. This activity is part of the WPA Recreation Program in Miami." Photo from the National Archives.

Above: Women making rugs on a WPA sewing room project in Spokane, Washington, December 1935. WPA-produced rugs were usually given to families in need of assistance. For example, in 1935 it was reported that WPA sewing rooms in Idaho would be making clothes, and also "pillow cases, sheets, and rugs for relief clients" ("Idaho Gets Funds For Needlework," The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, Oregon), September 17, 1935, p. 13). Photo from the National Archives.

Above: Two disabled military veterans on a WPA rug-making project in Springfield, Massachusetts, between 1935 and 1943. The New Deal recognized and utilized the skills of disabled Americans on many projects across the country. This type of work provided therapeutic benefits, modest pay, job training and, of course, goods for distribution to lower-income Americans who could not afford to buy  such products in the private marketplace. Photo from the National Archives.

Above: Another scene at the WPA rug-making center for disabled workers in Springfield, Massachusetts (see previous photo and caption). Photo from the National Archives.

Above: A WPA class for weaving rag rugs, Costilla, New Mexico, September 1939. Photo by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration, and provided courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Above: Newspaper archives are filled with articles about New Deal rug-making projects and show, among other things, that young women in the National Youth Administration (NYA) produced many rugs between 1935 and 1943, winning awards and accolades along the way. In this Associated Press article--from the March 21, 1937 edition of The Humboldt Times (Eureka, California)--we see that thrift not only guided the search for scrap material, but also for tools! Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: In between the termination of CWA (see 4th photo & caption from the top of this blog post), in March 1934, and the beginning of WPA, in July 1935, the Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided jobs for the unemployed, and funded the same types of projects as CWA and WPA, including rug-making. Indeed, FERA workers made 70,700 rugs during the Work Division's existence, just 15 months. Photo from the Work Division's final report.

Above: Another FERA rug-making project (see previous photo and caption), 1934-1935. Photo from the Work Division's final report.

Above: FERA also provided funding for cooperatives; and some of these co-ops produced rugs, such as the Berkeley Self-Help Cooperative. Image from the Work Division's final report.

Above: "Women of the Rug Cooperative," an organization funded by the New Deal's Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA), 1937. To learn more about PRRA, be sure to check out: Geoff G. Burrows, The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration: New Deal Public Works, Modernization, and Colonial Reform (University Press of Florida, 2024). Photo from Archivo de Arquitectura y Construcción de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (accessed January 12, 2026).

How Many New Deal Rugs?

It does not appear that a comprehensive study has ever been done on New Deal rugs; and, if records were kept at the time, they are not easily accessible today. However, if 70,700 rugs were created under the auspices of FERA's Work Division, in just 15 months, the total number--when we consider the much longer-lived WPA and NYA, as well as CWA and cooperatives--might be close to a million.

Republicans raised my healthcare costs, after cutting taxes for themselves and their wealthy donors

Above: A WPA poster, highlighting the New Deal principle of affordable healthcare. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Lower taxes for the rich, higher costs for everyone else

I renewed my ACA health insurance exchange coverage today--same plan, same doctors, same medicine--and my monthly premiums have increased by 44.6%. The increase is due to Republicans not wanting to extend health exchange subsidies currently in effect.

But the Republicans DID want to extend tax cuts for the rich, including themselves, and so they did. 

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy explains the effect of the Republican's "megabill," signed by Trump this past July: "More than 70 percent of the net tax cuts will go to the richest fifth of Americans in 2026, only 10 percent will go to the middle fifth of Americans, and less than 1 percent will go to the poorest fifth. The richest 5 percent alone will receive 45 percent of the net tax cuts next year."

This is what happens every time the GOP is in charge - the rich get coddled and the working-class gets pummeled. Sadly, this phenomenon also happens--though usually to a lesser degree--when neoliberal, corporate Democrats are in charge, as we painfully saw during many of the Bill Clinton and Barack Obama years. Obamacare (the ACA) was nice of course, but it's only as good as the subsidies it gets.

Perhaps someday the working-class will realize that the super-wealthy and their political marionettes are not their friends. Perhaps one day the working-class will unite and demand another New Deal. But unfortunately, that day is not today. Today, the working-class has allowed itself to be divided up into warring factions, battling each other over one cultural issue or another. Oh, how the wealth-controlled media has done a number on us!

Working-class Americans are beating each other senseless--men vs. women, whites vs. blacks, gays vs. straights, native-borns vs. immigrants--while the 1% giggles, keeps wages stagnant, and jacks up the prices. In fact, if you listen... very carefully... you can actually hear the voices of the 1% coming from the mega-yachts passing by: "Thanks suckers."

The New Deal Built Hospitals in Missouri. The 1% Are Shutting Them Down.

Above: This graphic shows 20 hospitals built in Missouri from 1933 to 1939 with funding from the New Deal's Public Works Administration (PWA). Image from America Builds: The Record of PWA, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1939, p. 269.

Above: This graphic is from the Missouri Hospital Association, and shows hospital closures from 2014 to 2024. Image used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: The Works Progress Administration (WPA) also engaged in hospital construction in Missouri. The description for this photograph, taken in December 1937, reads: "Fulton State Hospital No. 1 [Missouri] - New wing on old building - all work by the WPA." Photo from the National Archives.

Above: The WPA also helped staff hospitals in Missouri, for example, with nurses and sanitation workers. The description for this photograph, taken in July 1936, reads: "Pharmacists employed by WPA are shown working in St. Louis Hosp. #1. The employment of these men as assistants in public institutions is part of the Missouri WPA program. They are mixing medicine for the charity patients of the hospital." Photo from the National Archives.

The 1% Are Shutting Down Our Hospitals

The New Deal had an extensive public health program, including the construction of many new hospitals, many of them built in rural areas. Today, the 1% are shutting down hospitals, all across the country, in their never-ending quest for tax cuts, profits, and the destruction of programs that help the middle-class and poor. Rural communities are being hit the hardest, because the 1% realize that less populated areas have less profit potential or require too much government funding, i.e., taxes. (This is the same reason that the 1% did not want to provide electricity to rural areas - a problem that the New Deal solved with the Rural Electrification Administration.)

In a recent article in The Mexico Ledger (Mexico, Missouri) we hear about the pain and suffering that the 1% are willfully inflicting on rural Americans:

"For Elizabeth Berry, 72, and Randy Dickson, 63, not having a hospital means more than not having a place to get the care they need. There is another layer of difficulty when it comes to actually getting to the closest hospital, which, for most in the Mexico area, is about 40 miles away in Columbia.

"'You pretty much know, if you have an emergency, you are in serious trouble,' Dickson said. 'It's a bad situation. And when you do get down there, it's so crowded that you can't get in. You have people who are being treated in the waiting area.'

"These struggles impact everyone in the area and the impact is greatest on people who are older, can't drive or have health issues and are on their own.

"'The only way I can get there is in an ambulance, and I can't afford it,' Dickson said. 'So if I have an emergency, I just have to hope I don't die before I get there.'

"Berry's husband died after years of battling kidney failure and heart issues. She is still struggling to pay off the debt that came with his medical bills, which were exacerbated by the lack of local care.

"'He had to be airlifted a number of times or had to take an ambulance because of his issues, and I am still dealing with the bills that are coming in for transportation,' Berry said."

(From: "'And that’s all gone': Rural health centers in Missouri close, end continuous local care," The Mexico Ledger (Mexico, Missouri), September 24, 2025).

Why all this suffering? Answer: The 1% want more tax cuts and profits so they can buy more luxury items--sports cars, 4th or 5th mansions, private islands, luxury doomsday bunkers, jewelry, $50,000 dollar dresses and watches, etc.--and if the poor and old have to die in the process, so be it. This is why mega-yacht sales are on the rise at the same time rural hospitals are shutting down.

Hopefully, one day, the working-class will realize that the 1% are not their good buddies. But until that day comes--until they stop relying on billionaires to "lead" them--they will be experiencing a lot of unnecessary illness, pain, and death.

Disaster relief: New Deal action vs. modern apathy

Above: "Flood waters," a lithograph by Paul Weller (1912-2000), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, between 1936 and 1939. Image courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Action vs. Apathy

West Virginia Watch recently reported on disaster victims in southern West Virginia who aren't receiving nearly enough help. Nine weeks after historic flooding, residents are dealing with perpetually wet carpet, waterlogged floors, lack of heat, lack of running water, muddy basements, trash that isn't being removed, and mold. And even before the flooding disaster, "some residents haven’t had clean drinking water for decades" ("McDowell residents feel forgotten, overwhelmed as they face flood recovery with limited help," West Virginia Watch, April 23, 2025).

One elderly resident summed up the insufficient federal, state, local, and charitable assistance by saying, "Nobody cares, I'm telling you, this day and time."

But in a different day and time, long ago, the New Deal cared. It sent in armies of WPA and CCC workers to evacuate victims; assist with search and rescue; provide food, water, and clothing; clean-up debris; repair infrastructure and utilities; and even provide music and activities to calm rattled nerves. It provided these services all across the nation... for example, in West Virginia.

In 1937, when damaging floods hit several West Virginia counties near the Ohio River, WPA workers cleaned streets, made and distributed clothes, provided sleeping quarters, assisted the Red Cross, and "answered 4,000 miscellaneous calls for help such as for evacuating homes, rescuing stranded persons, salvaging personal belongings, transporting food, medicine, physicians, and nurses" ("WPA Workers Help In Crisis," The Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, West Virginia), January 26, 1937). A little over a month later, WPA workers were repairing flood-damaged streets, sewer systems, schools, and buildings (Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, West Virginia), March 6, 1937, and The Independent-Herald (Hinton, West Virginia), March 31, 1937).

We could provide this same WPA-style disaster relief today, to those in need, if we weren't so addicted to prioritizing personal wealth over the common good.

The New Deal delivered the childcare that Americans aren't permitted to have today

Above: This map shows nursery schools in the United States funded by the New Deal's Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). At the time this map was created (1935), there were about 72,000 children enrolled in 1,821 nursery schools. These general numbers were maintained throughout the New Deal period, with WPA taking over the schools starting fiscal year 1936. Shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, many WPA nursery schools were converted into childcare centers for defense workers. And then, after the war, they essentially disappeared. The FERA and WPA nursery schools showed the nation what was possible, but the nation discarded the lesson and has struggled with childcare ever since. The map and enrollment statistics above are from: The National Advisory Committee on Emergency Nursery Schools, Emergency Nursery Schools During the Second Year 1934-1935.

Above: A WPA nursery school, at Virginia and Clendenin Streets, Charleston, West Virginia, 1937. As the article notes, the nursery schools (and most particularly, the facilitation of cooperative group play) was intended to instill the values of democracy and good citizenship in the children. Image above from The Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, West Virginia), January 10, 1937, and newspapers.com; used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Much thought was put into the types of toys to be made available at the nursery schools, and building blocks proved to be one of the most popular with the children. Image from a WPA bulletin.

Above: Many creative methods were used to create toys for the nursery school children, for example, recycled materials (see the spool toy above) and toys that parents could make and donate. Image from a WPA bulletin.

Above: WPA administrators provided many instructions on how to make nursery schools more efficient and manageable, for example, this movable bathroom rack. Image from a WPA bulletin.

Above: Suggested dimensions for a WPA nursery school easel. Image from a WPA bulletin.

Above: A WPA nursery school in Scott's Run, West Virginia, 1936. Photo by Lewis Hine, courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA nursery school in Scott's Run, West Virginia, 1936. Photo by Lewis Hine, courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A daily schedule at one of the WPA nursery schools. Image from a WPA Bulletin.

Above: Story hour at a FERA-funded nursery school in Oakland, California, ca. 1934. The "SERA" you see in the caption refers to the State Emergency Relief Administration of California. Each state set up its own emergency relief office to administer funds from FERA. Photo from "The Project," January 1935 edition, a publication of FERA and the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation.

Above: A WPA nursery in Savin Hill, Massachusetts, 1936. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA nursery in Seattle, Washington, ca. 1938. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA nursery in Seaford, Delaware, ca. 1938. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Year after year, decade after decade, the childcare needs of post-New Deal America are never met

Grace Langdon, the director of FERA, WPA, and wartime nursery schools, wrote, "Prior to October 1933 [i.e., prior to the New Deal] some 300 nursery schools existed in the United States serving for the most part children of families well-to-do or at least in comfortable circumstances" ("What our Best Nursery Schools Have to Offer," The Project, January 1935, p. 33, a publication of FERA and the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation).

The nursery schools that Langdon oversaw were enormously successful and offered a blueprint for Americans to build upon. But Americans chose not to, and have paid the price ever since with childcare financial gimmickry, e.g., insufficient tax credits, insufficient funding programs, and the like.

Things are about to get worse. For example, at the federal level the Trump Administration and Congress (which are now one and the same) are planning to gut or eliminate Head Start (which needs to be enhanced, not cut).  See, "White House proposes eliminating Head Start funding as part of sweeping budget cuts," Associated Press, April 17, 2025, and "'We are fighting for Head Start:' Advocates sound the alarm over proposed elimination," WCHS News, April 18, 2025.

As if that were not bad enough, at least some red states that fancy themselves mini-MAGAs are also failing to adequately fund childcare. For example, in West Virginia, a state with almost no Democrats holding office, the following was noted of the recent legislative session: "When it comes to caring for the future of West Virginia, its children, nothing happened this session. Lawmakers in the male-dominated body didn’t advance any bills that would help child care providers stay open for working parents" ("In state budget, West Virginia Republicans stash millions for tax cuts and carve up small programs," Mountain State Spotlight, April 18, 2025).

And so, America's pathological rejection of the New Deal continues, with tens of millions of Americans financially crushed and, in many cases, still eager to vote for those who crush them. Amazing.