The CCC Built Men

(WPA poster, courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Manuel Gomez of Vermont described his experience in the CCC:

"This work phase in which I spent two years of my life happened over 40 years ago but the benefits I derived have stayed with me all of this time...We had blacks in our camps--this was before integration was accepted in our country. I got to know these boys in work and play and realized that discrimination had no place in our world...There was an intensive safety program in the CCCs...This safety training has never left me...In this outdoor life we learned to do a hard day's labor. We also developed a love for nature and a caring that is not to be abused by selfish interests."

From "Roosevelt's Tree Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps," by Perry H. Merrill, 1981.

Infrastructure Report Card: Public Parks and Recreation: "C-"

(WPA poster, courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

In their 2013 Infrastructure Report Card, the American Society of Civil Engineers gives America's public parks and recreational infrastructure a "C-", writing: "The popularity of parks and outdoor recreation areas in the United States continues to grow, with over 140 million Americans making use of these facilities a part of their daily lives. These activities contribute $646 billion to the nation’s economy, supporting 6.1 million jobs. Yet states and localities struggle to provide these benefits for parks amid flat and declining budgets, reporting an estimated $18.5 billion in unmet needs in 2011. The federal government is also facing a serious challenge as well since the National Park Service estimates its maintenance backlog at approximately $11 billion." 

(The WPA and CCC helped create Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County, Maryland. Today, visitors to the park can camp, picnic, view wildlife, hike, fish, and go cross-country skiiing. Photo by Brent McKee)   

During the Great Depression, New Deal work programs hired the unemployed to create, develop, and improve public parks. For example, the CCC worked on about 800 parks across the country, and planted about 3 BILLION trees. The WPA created or improved 8,000 parks, 18,000 playgrounds & athletic fields, and 2,000 public pools. Millions of Americans still use these parks today, and thousands of businesses benefit from the vacation and tourism dollars. Yet, very few people know of the CCC's role in the creation and development of these parks, and still fewer know of the WPA's involvement. Meanwhile, many politicians and political commentators say a public works program for the long-term unemployed would be "wasteful." 

(Information plaque at Swallow Falls State Park in Garrett County, Maryland. Click to enlarge. Photo by Brent McKee)

In September of 2012, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have created a new CCC-type program for unemployed veterans. And, despite the fact that there are 27 million Americans who would like a full-time job but can't find one (see http://www.njfac.org/), and despite the fact that the American Society of Civil Engineers just gave our nation's overall infrastructure a "D+", most of our political "leaders" never discuss the possibility of a new WPA. Most of them probably don't even know what the WPA was, even though the WPA was one of the largest work and building programs in human history (something we should be proud of, not ignorant of).

   (Green Ridge State Forest in Allegany County, Maryland. The CCC was instrumental in the development of this state forest. Photo by Brent McKee) 

Infrastructure Report Card: Dams: "D"

(The Public Works Administration helped fund the Hoover Dam. The dam has been providing energy for three quarters of a century. Photo by Brent McKee.)

"The average age of the 84,000 dams in the country is 52 years old...The number of deficient dams is estimated at more than 4,000, which includes 2,000 deficient high-hazard dams." So writes the American Society of Civil Engineers in their 2013 Infrastructure Report Card for America.

 (WPA laborers working on the Johnsons Pond Dam in Salisbury, Maryland, in 1936. The dam is still in operation today. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

During the Great Depression, New Deal funds and New Deal workers (CWA, CCC, WPA) built thousands of dams, of all sizes and uses. Today, we ignore the unemployed (or insult them) and let our infrastructure deteriorate. 

(Tygart Dam in West Virginia. Funded by the Public Works Administration. Photo by Brent McKee.)

Infrastructure Report Card: Roads: "D"

(WPA workers paving Loch Raven Boulevard in Baltimore, Maryland, in September of 1936. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives)  

The 2013 Infrastructure Report Card by the American Society of Civil Engineers gives America's roadways a "D", writing: "Forty-two percent of America’s major urban highways remain congested, costing the economy an estimated $101 billion in wasted time and fuel annually." 

During the New Deal, the WPA performed various types of work on 650,000 miles of roads, streets, and highways. That's enough roadwork to circle the Earth 26 times.

27 million Americans would like a full time job, but can't find one. Nearly 5 million Americans are considered "long-term unemployed" by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The current labor force participation rate in America is historically low. There is no WPA today. Few of our political "leaders" even discuss it.

Infrastructure Report Card: Bridges: "C+"

(A WPA crew working on a bridge in Harford County, Maryland, in 1936. The caption for the photo reads: "Welding new steel for strengthening. Painting 1st coat aluminum." Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)    

In their new Infrastructure Report Card, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives American bridges a "C+". Though this is one of the better grades in the report card, the ASCE notes: "Over two hundred million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation’s 102 largest metropolitan regions. In total, one in nine of the nation’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation’s 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years."

During the New Deal, the WPA employed the jobless to (among other things) build, repair, and improve bridges. The WPA built 78,000 new bridges and viaducts, and repaired and improved thousands more. We still drive across many of these bridges today.

27 million Americans would like a full time job, but can't find one. Nearly 5 million Americans are considered "long-term unemployed" by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The current labor force participation rate in America is historically low. There is no WPA today. Few of our political "leaders" even discuss it.   

Infrastructure Report Card: Wastewater: "D"

(WPA poster, courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

The 2013 Infrastructure Report Card, by the American Society of Civil Engineers, gives American wastewater systems a "D", reporting: "Pipes represent the largest capital need, comprising three quarters of total needs. Fixing and expanding the pipes will address sanitary sewer overflows, combined sewer overflows, and other pipe-related issues."

(A WPA work crew installing a sewer line in Frederick County, Maryland, in December of 1937. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives)

During the New Deal, the WPA employed the jobless to (among other things) install storm and sewer lines. The WPA installed 24,000 miles of new storm and sewer lines, and repaired 3,000 miles of existing lines. That's enough pipe & drainage work to circle the Earth.

27 million Americans would like a full time job, but can't find one. Nearly 5 million Americans are considered "long-term unemployed" by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The current labor force participation rate in America is historically low. There is no WPA today. Few of our political "leaders" even discuss it.

Infrastructure Report Card: Schools: "D"

(WPA workers building a school on the eastern shore of Maryland in July of 1936. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

The 2013 Infrastructure Report Card, by the American Society of Civil Engineers, gives American schools a "D", noting: "Public school enrollment is projected to gradually increase through 2019, yet state and local school construction funding continues to decline. National spending on school construction has diminished to approximately $10 billion in 2012, about half the level spent prior to the recession, while the condition of school facilities continues to be a significant concern for communities."

During the New Deal, the WPA employed the jobless to (among other things) work on schools. The WPA built about 6,000 new schools. They repaired and improved thousands more.

27 million Americans would like a full time job, but can't find one. Nearly 5 million Americans are considered "long-term unemployed" by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The current labor force participation rate in America is historically low. There is no WPA today. Few of our political "leaders" even discuss it.

Infrastructure Report Card: Drinking Water: "D"

In their 2013 American Infrastructure Report Card the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives the nation a "D" for drinking water. While the water quality, generally, does not pose a health risk, ASCE writes: "At the dawn of the 21st century, much of our drinking water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life. There are an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States."

Consider this from Baltimore: "For the second time in six days, Baltimore's aging water system ruptured, affecting service to dozens of businesses and homes downtown and in Essex, including two hospitals, while snarling traffic and providing yet another unpleasant reminder of the region's crumbling infrastructure." (From "City's infrastructure problems continue with two water main breaks Monday," Baltimore Sun, November 12, 2012, see article here).

During the New Deal, WPA workers installed 16,000 miles of new water lines. This is more than enough water line to extend from Washington, D.C. to New Delhi, India, and then back to D.C. The fact that many of these water lines still serve us today (far beyond the time they were expected to) is a testament to the good work of our elders & ancestors.    

Today, there are about 27 million Americans who would like a full-time job but can't find one (see here). Today, our infrastructure deteriorates and there is no WPA. In fact, the majority of our political "leaders" do not even discuss a new WPA.

(Image above is a WPA poster, courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Infrastructure Report Card: Aviation: "D"

The 2013 Infrastructure Report Card, by the American Society of Civil Engineers, gives American Aviation a "D", noting: "Despite the effects of the recent recession, commercial enplanements were about 33 million higher in number in 2011 than in 2000, stretching the system’s ability to meet the needs of the nation’s economy. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates that the national cost of airport congestion and delays was almost $22 billion in 2012. If current federal funding levels are maintained, the FAA anticipates that the cost of congestion and delays to the economy will rise from $34 billion in 2020 to $63 billion by 2040."

Worse, recent budget cuts (the so-called "sequestration") is reducing the effectiveness of air traffic control. (See, e.g., Sequestration Furloughs Air Traffic Controller One Week After Winning Award)

During the Great Depression, the unemployed were hired into the WPA to (among other things) build, improve, and repair airports. They worked on over 900 airports. Edgar S. Gorrell, president of the Airport Transport Association of America in 1940, said “When the history of civil aeronautics during its formative era is finally written, there will be a chapter on the activities of WPA which will be unstinted in its praise.”

There are 27 million Americans who would like a full-time job but can't find one (see here). There are nearly 5 million Americans who are described by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as "long-term unemployed" (see here). We just received a "D" ("poor") on our aviation infrastructure. Our response? Ignore the unemployed and cut spending on airports.

(Image above is a WPA Poster, courtesy of the Library of Congress. Gorrell quote is from "Naked Airport: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Revolutionary Structure," by Alistair Gordon.)

A foreign “Boondoggle,” when we could have had a new WPA

(WPA workers on a bridge project)

Recent reports and developments are calling into question how much we’ve accomplished in Iraq over the past nine years. According to Huffington Post reporters Joshua Hersh and Chris Spurlock, “$800 billion was spent on the mission overall, a boondoggle that left more than 4,000 American service members dead, 32,000 more wounded, and an authoritarian government in place that is little better -- and possibly, owing to its closer ties to Iran, worse -- than the one that was taken out.” For $800 billion dollars we have “… chaos and impoverishment, hundreds of thousands of citizens dead and millions more displaced, and a vicious sectarianism that still threatens to rip the country apart at the seams.”

(See Iraq War Cost $800 Billion, And What Do We Have To Show For It?)

According to a recent Gallup Poll, most Americans view the Iraq War as a mistake and, interestingly, older Americans are more likely to disapprove of the Iraq War.

 (WPA workers on a road project)

In any event, as we’ve been spending eight hundred thousand million dollars in Iraq, we’ve done very little on the domestic front to address our unemployment and infrastructure problems. There are about 27 million Americans who would like a full-time job but can’t find one (see http://www.njfac.org/); a problem Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has called “a waste of human and economic potential.” Further, the just-released 2013 Infrastructure Report Card by the American Society of Civil Engineers shows little improvement in the quality of our bridges, dams, roads, schools, etc., from 2009—giving the country a D+. Meanwhile, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis) is peddling a budget that cuts spending on American infrastructure (see, e.g., here), and Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have created a new CCC-type program for unemployed veterans (see here).  

For eight hundred thousand million dollars we could have (easily) created a new WPA and CCC. This would have provided opportunities for millions of unemployed Americans to return to the job market, and improved the nation’s transportation, utility, and environmental systems.

Why didn’t we?

(A WPA-built school; still used today)

Ronald Reagan wrote, “The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR’s alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges, and other projects…it gave men and women a chance to make some money along with the satisfaction of knowing they earned it.” (From his autobiography, "Ronald Reagan: An American Life," 1990)

(Black & white images courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives. Color photo by Brent McKee. Image of WPA sign courtesy of the National Archives) 

Is this the reason we don't have a new WPA?

A 2011 study conducted by researchers from Northwestern and Vanderbilt universities suggest that only 19% of the very wealthy feel that government should “see to it” that people who want to work can get a job, and only 8% of the very wealthy agree with the idea that the “federal government should provide jobs…for everyone able and willing to work who cannot find a job in private employment.”

(See study here)

Among the general public? 68% and 53%, respectively.

The authors of the study write: “The New Deal idea of public employment apparently lives on in the minds of many Americans (though they are seldom given a chance to tell pollsters about it), but it has been rejected by the wealthy and by a consensus in Washington.”

If true, what a shame. Many Americans who lose their jobs--and have trouble finding new comparable jobs (or any jobs at all)--often lose their health insurance, their homes & apartments, and their ability to feed their families. They also see their credit rating destroyed and often have to declare bankruptcy--two things which can make it even harder to find employment again. Further, some people fall into depression and, in extreme cases, some people even kill themselves because of financial devastation.

Art Classes for Children

The WPA promoted art instruction for children:

(WPA poster. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.) 

The WPA offered art classes for children:

(WPA art class at the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

The WPA operated nursery schools for children of lower-income working parents, as well as for the children of parents who were involved in the defense industries and the military (during World War II). In these nursery schools, children could participate in educational & creative activities:

 (Children painting at a WPA nursery in San Francisco. Image courtesy of the Franklin Roosevelt Library.)

Some people say that the WPA was a waste of money. I don't understand that type of thinking.

Boondoggles, or Beautiful Parks?

"Now, a lot of people remember it as boondoggles...raking leaves...Maybe in some places it was. Maybe in the big city machines or something. But I can take you to our town and show you things, like a river front that I used to hike through once that was a swamp and is now a beautiful park-like place built by WPA."

--Ronald Reagan (from the book In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to George W. Bush, by William Leuchtenburg)

(Ronald Reagan at Camp David. Camp David was a joint CCC/WPA project. Image courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library)

Jobs vs. Arrests

In October 2012, the FBI published their annual Uniform Crime Reports for 2011. According to the report, there were about 12.4 million arrests across the country in 2011 (see arrest statistics here).

The American economy, meanwhile, created about 1.4 million jobs in 2011.

For every job created there were about 9 arrests.

America has the highest incarceration rate in the world, far surpassing countries like Rwanda, Cuba, and Iran. America's incarceration rate is 7.5 times higher than Ireland's and 13 times higher than Japan's.

New Deal work programs like the WPA and CCC were created (among other reasons) to provide the jobless with useful things to do; to have an opportunity to earn some money while working, instead of wandering about aimless & broke, or getting into trouble. These voluntary-to-join work programs gave the unemployed hope, and the unemployed, in turn, gave America a massive amount of modernized infrastructure.

Today, we have no WPA or CCC. Today, there are about 27 million Americans who would like a full-time job but can't find one (see http://www.njfac.org/).

(Image above courtesy of http://123freevectors.com/)

Jobs: "A long way to go," ad infinitum

Over the past five years America has lost a lot of jobs, gained a few back, lost some more, gained a few back, etc., etc.  The job losses began during George W. Bush's last year in office and we've yet to see a strong, sustained recovery for the American worker. Year after year we keep hearing "we've still got a long way to go."

After the November 2009 jobs report, President Obama said, "We've still got a long way to go."

After the March 2010 jobs report, economist and presidential adviser Larry Summers said, "We've got a long way to go."

After the June 2011 jobs report, President Obama said, "We still have a long way to go."

After the May 2012 jobs report, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "we have a long way to go."

After the January 2013 jobs report, Jill Schlesinger, Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch, said we "still have a long way to go."

Considering our highly dysfunctional Congress, as well the continued exportation of American jobs to cheap foreign labor markets, at what point does "a long way to go" translate into "this is the new norm folks, get used to it"?

(Image above courtesy of http://www.dream-wallpaper.com/)

Half-a-Billion Unemployed?

I ran across an eye-opening article in the USA Today, "Global Joblessness Rising" (Jan. 22, 2013). It reported that, according to the International Labour Organization, "The net number of unemployed people rose 4% in 2012 to 197 million and is expected to rise by 5.1 million in 2013 and an additional 3 million in 2014..."

If these numbers are calculated in a similar manner as the main, official unemployment rate we get from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics every month, we know that the true number of unemployed people could be over twice as many as the reported figures. So, in a few years, we could have close to half-a-billion people on planet Earth who can't find work.

If idle hands are the devil's playground, the devil certainly has lot of hands to work with.

Dignity

A worker weaving a rug on a WPA project. The WPA was designed to give unemployed Americans a chance to earn some money, maintain (or acquire new) skills, and preserve their dignity, while creating useful things. Women in the WPA made clothes, rugs, quilts, mattresses, hospital gowns, and more. They also made blankets, canteen covers, and other items for soldiers. Women also participated in other WPA projects, e.g., health clinics, library services to rural areas, and WPA theater productions.

(Photograph courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Snow

It's snowing in the Mid-Atlantic today; about a foot+ where I'm at. The photo above shows a WPA work crew clearing snow in Baltimore in February of 1936 (image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives).

Ten Ways the WPA Helped Feed America

(See images below and click to enlarge) 

     Today, food assistance for low-income individuals & families is under constant criticism, and budget cuts constantly threaten the Food and Drug Administration--the agency that works to protect our food from contamination and poor handling.

     Meanwhile, the unemployed are punished in a variety of ways, and stereotyped as lazy good-for-nothings. Even as private sector job creation is weak, the unemployed face insults from political commentators, diminished unemployment benefits, reduced assistance for job re-training, coerced drug-testing, and employment discrimination.

     However, there was a time where the humiliation of the needy was put on a back burner, and more productive & compassionate public policies were utilized. One of these policies was called the Works Progress Administration (WPA, 1935-43). The WPA hired the jobless, and provided food assistance to the needy (and Americans generally) in a number of ways:

1. The WPA created jobs for the unemployed, which meant the unemployed could finally earn money to feed their families. Jane Yoder, a woman who grew up during the Great Depression, said: "...my father immediately got employed in this WPA. This was a godsend. This was the greatest thing. It meant food, you know. Survival, just survival."

(The caption to this photo reads: "WPA worker and family at dinner. Zeigler, Illinois." Image provided courtesy of the Library of Congress)

2. WPA workers distributed food to low-income families:

(WPA workers preparing food for distribution in Maryland. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives)

3. WPA artists created posters promoting nutritious foods:

  (WPA poster. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

4. WPA artists created posters promoting food safety:

(WPA poster. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

5. WPA artists created posters promoting local food markets:

(WPA poster. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

6. WPA workers provided food to low-income children, at schools, nurseries, and in special summer lunch programs:

 (Children sitting down for lunch at a WPA nursery in Cambridge, Maryland. Notice the box crate chairs. Image provided courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives)

7. The WPA built farm-to-market roads, to enable farmers to more easily get their food products to consumers:

(WPA laborers working on a farm-to-market road in Allegany County, Maryland. Image provided courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)  

8. The WPA planted 8 million bushels of oysters, thereby putting smiles on the faces of many generations of American seafood lovers:

(WPA workers planting oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. Image provided courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

9. The WPA built or improved fish hatcheries across the nation (many of which are still in use today), thereby providing generations of anglers & consumers with an ample supply of aquatic fun & nourishment:

 (WPA laborers working on a fish hatchery in Frederick County, Maryland. Image provided courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.  

  
10. The WPA created subsistence gardens in communities, so low-income residents could grow their own food:

 (WPA poster. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

     Imagine if we had a WPA today. The unemployed could be hired to work and, among other things, provide food for low-income families. Wouldn't that be better than humiliating the jobless and cursing food stamp recipients as "takers" and "parasites"?  

     I was raised Christian, and even though I'm not a religious person today, I still hold many of the teachings dear, e.g., "if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday" (Isaiah 58:10, Holy Bible, New International Version). This seems to square nicely with the U.S. Constitution's promotion of the general welfare in the preamble, and the statement that Congress shall have the power to provide for the general welfare (Article I, Section 8). 

     President Franklin Roosevelt said: "Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference." And Ronald Reagan said, "The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies...it gave men and women a chance to earn some money along with the satisfaction of knowing they earned it."

     Given these words from the Bible, the Constitution, FDR, and Reagan, why are we still refusing to provide direct employment to the jobless, and why are we still acting cruelly to those who need governmental food assistance?

(Jane Yoder quote from "Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression," by Studs Terkel, 1970. FDR quote from "American-Made," by Nick Taylor, 2008. Ronald Reagan quote from "Ronald Reagan: An American Life," by Ronald Reagan, 1990)

Targeting, Stereotyping, and Scapegoating the Unemployed

Add Dr. Richard Vedder, from the University of Ohio, to the list of people making it harder for the unemployed to find a job, by targeting them for condemnation and categorization.

Dr. Vedder’s op-ed in the January 15th edition of the Wall Street Journal online, “The Wages of Unemployment,” is the typical government-assistance-makes-the-unemployed-lazy material coming from the political right.

While paying lip-service to “a number of factors,” Dr. Vedder writes that “the (unemployment) phenomenon is due mainly to a variety of public policies that have reduced the incentives to be employed” (emphasis added).  Translation: The unemployed are content to be lazy.

We’ve heard this type of thing many times before. For example, political commentator and TV personality Ben Stein wrote: “in general, as I survey the ranks of those who are unemployed, I see people who have overbearing and unpleasant personalities and/or who do not know how to do a day’s work. They are people who create either little utility or negative utility on the job.” (See his full, offensive article here). Presidential hopeful Herman Cain said: “Don't blame Wall Street. Don't blame the big banks. If you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself.” In other words, it’s not the exportation of jobs, it’s not the fact that machines have increasingly replaced people, it’s not the increased importation of cheaply-made goods; no, it’s those damn lazy unemployed Americans!

So, Dr. Vedder continues the tradition of blaming the victim (and big bad government), by targeting food stamps, Social Security Disability, Pell Grants, and extended unemployment benefits, and writing: “But if you pay people to stay at home, many will do so rather than seek employment or accept jobs where the pay doesn't meet their expectations.”

Note his clever and deceptive “if you pay people to stay at home.”

Food stamps are not a payment to stay at home. They are financial assistance to people who, for different reasons, cannot afford an adequate amount of food. I used to work at a food pantry, as an Americorps member, and almost all of our clients were the working poor (they would come in once a month for a box of various foods). They were not lazy, they were poor. The free box of food did not make them leave their jobs.

Social Security Disability is not a payment to stay at home. It’s a payment to those whose medical issues have prevented (or stopped) them from working. Dr. Vetter implies that people are milking the system, but if one looks closely at the issue, one will see that the rise of benefit claims is much more complicated than the "lazy people" explanation (e.g., an aging population, job outsourcing, slack job creation).

Pell grants are not payments to stay at home. They are payments to help people (who do not come from wealth) to attend college.

Unemployment insurance is not a payment to stay at home. It is a payment to help ease the burden of a loss of income while you search for work (a search that is required by law).

So, why does it matter that people like Dr. Vedder, Ben Stein, and Herman Cain target, stereotype, and scapegoat the unemployed?

Because it makes it much harder for the unemployed to find work.

Many employers and business owners will no doubt internalize what Vedder, Stein, and Cain write & say (or have their current prejudices reinforced), and then come to the determination that the unemployed are indeed lazy, and not worth hiring. And, in fact, there is anecdotal and empirical evidence that employers do actively discriminate against the unemployed (see, e.g., the academic studies reported here, here, and here). One researcher said: "It's not that they don't have the skills--it's just that employers don't hire them because they think badly of them." Well gee, I wonder why, when you have a chorus from the political right chanting how lazy the unemployed must be.

It’s a shame that Dr. Vedder has joined the “unemployed-are-lazy” sing-along, and thus exacerbated the hopelessness that the jobless live in, because he has actually done interesting and worthwhile research about college enrollment vs. labor market demand. I guess it was just too tempting to join in on the feeding frenzy.

However, as I’ve written before, why don’t we put the “unemployed-are-lazy” theory to the test. Let’s create a new WPA and CCC, and see how many enroll? My impression is that many from the political right would violently oppose this. Partially, because they believe that everything the government does is “godless communism,” and partly because they would lose the political utility of the “slacker” and “loser” stereotype that they place on the jobless. How useful it must be for them, on the one hand, to label the unemployed as “good-for-nothings” who don’t want to work, and, on the other hand, create no large-scale public works program for the jobless to prove otherwise.

And, indeed, Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a new CCC-type program for unemployed veterans in 2012 (see here).

(Image above courtesy of Christian Gidlöf and Wikipedia)