The Reverse New Deal: A Slow and Subtle Homicide

(These Civil Works Administration laborers are building a Tuberculosis medical facility in Salisbury, Maryland, circa 1933-34. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

A new book by two university professors--a political economist from Oxford University and an epidemiologist from Stanford University--highlights how economic austerity is having deadly effects around the globe via "...HIV and malaria outbreaks, shortages of essential medicines, lost healthcare access, and an avoidable epidemic of alcohol abuse, depression and suicide" (see the article New Research: Economic Austerity in US and Europe 'Is Killing People').

Meanwhile, journalist Cathy Mckitrick of the Salt Lake Tribune reports that "Utah Department of Health officials expect reductions in funding for vaccinating uninsured children, for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition-supplement program and, by 2014, for Meals on Wheels, which delivers food to seniors" (see the article Utah's less fortunate most likely to feel sting of sequester).

During the Great Depression, New Deal programs provided work, schools, food, clothing, medical services, and more to those in need. Today, on the other hand, we are making life harder for those in need, so that the super-rich and multi-national corporations are not inconvenienced.

Welcome to the Reverse New Deal. Welcome to a slow and subtle homicide. 

The Reverse New Deal: Deprive Lower-Income Senior Citizens of Food

According to a recent Huffington Post article, "...federal funding for senior nutrition has been reduced by budget cuts known as sequestration, meaning less food for old people..." (see Meals On Wheels Sequestration Cuts Taking Effect).

During the New Deal, via the WPA, efforts were made to provide work for older jobless Americans, thereby providing them with the means to purchase food. Efforts were also made to distribute surplus food (and other commodities) to those in need.

In addition to the WPA, the New Deal ushered in Social Security to help older Americans struggling to make ends meet.

Today, the super-rich in America are enjoying a historically high share of our nation's wealth & historically low tax rates, billions have been hidden in offshore tax-evading bank accounts, and income inequality is soaring. And now, food programs for lower-income senior citizens, we are told, must be cut.

Welcome to the Reverse New Deal. Welcome to immorality.

The Reverse New Deal: Cutting Aid To Cancer Patients

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

According to a recent ThinkProgress article, "...local cancer clinics all across America are being forced to turn away thousands of senior citizens on Medicare and deny them their chemotherapy treatments as a consequence of federal budget cuts." (See The Sequester Is Forcing Cancer Clinics To Deny Chemotherapy To Thousands Of Elderly Americans)

During the 1930s and 40s, New Deal work & construction programs built hospitals, operated mobile health clinics, offered dental exams to children, employed jobless nurses & pharmacists to help those in need,  and much more.

The New Deal wasn't perfect, but the idea behind it was: To help people, through productive government programs (i.e., programs created by We The People). Today, we have abandoned such ideology. Today, we are hyper-focused on the deficit--even if that means people will die, even if that means the long-term unemployed will never again find work, and even if that means American social mobility plummets (it's already low among developed countries). 

American culture is on the verge of pure ruthlessness (perhaps it has already reached that point). Welcome to the Reverse New Deal.

15 Ways The New Deal Helped America's Youth Become Part Of The Greatest Generation

(See pictures below!)

A recent United Nations report ranks America near the bottom in child well-being, among developed countries. This is no great surprise, however, since 13 to 16 million American children live in poverty (see "By the numbers: Childhood poverty in the U.S."). Meanwhile, income inequality soars and billions of American dollars reside in offshore, tax-evading bank accounts (see, e.g., "Piercing the secrecy of offshore tax havens"). Also, according to a recent report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, "Nearly 6.5 million U.S. teens and young adults are neither in school nor in the workforce, veering toward chronic underemployment as adults and failing to gain the skills employers need in the 21st century..."

So, while we're preparing our low-income children for their debt, their unemployment, their hopelessness, and their incarceration in the world's largest prison-industrial complex (increasingly run by private, for-profit corporations), I thought it would be interesting to highlight 15 ways the New Deal helped young people blossom into America's greatest generation during the 1930s and 40s. This was during one of those rare times when government (or, "We-The-People") actually cared more about We-The-People than handing out tax breaks to the mega-wealthy and creating tax loopholes for job-exporting businesses.

15 Ways The New Deal Helped America's Youth Become Part Of The Greatest Generation  

1. Provided employment opportunities for their parents in programs like the Civil Works Administration, Works Progress Administration, and Public Works Administration.

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

A family with a working parent, or parents, is more likely to be a healthy and happy family. 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” (Jane Yoder, in the book “Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression,” Studs Terkel, 1970).

The New Deal not only provided work for the unemployed, but also provided more work for private contractors via the enormous construction projects of the Public Works Administration (PWA), e.g., large dams, hospitals, highway projects, naval vessels.

2. Provided jobs and training opportunities to teens and young adults (ages 16-25) through the National Youth Administration.

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

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

(A young woman in a National Youth Administration welding class, in Daytona Beach, Florida, 1943. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

3. Instilled in young adults an appreciation for work, discipline, and camaraderie, through the Civilian Conservation Corps.

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

(CCC boys cutting down a dead tree in Sequoia National Park. Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)

"It was a good clean life of discipline. Everything was spit and polish. You were outdoors all the time. You slept out under the stars at night. You learned how to get along with people, with the fellows. I think it shaped my life. I learned you don't get anything unless your work for it" (Frank G. Schmidt, CCC Alumni, in the book "Roosevelt's Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps," Perry H. Merrill, 1981.) 

4. Promoted reading and education.

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

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

5. Built schools and improved colleges.

(WPA workers beginning preparations for the football stadium at Fort Hill High School. The school building itself was built with the assistance of funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

(Fort Hill High School today, still in use...thousands of graduates later. Photo by Brent McKee.)

(WPA men working an athletic field at Frostburg State University, then called Frostburg State Teachers College. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

The WPA alone built, repaired, or improved tens of thousands of educational buildings.

6. Fed children and promoted a good diet.

(These children are enjoying a lunch provided by a New Deal surplus commodities program. Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)

(The WPA served over a billion school lunches, and also had a summer lunch program for the children of low-income families. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. )

7. Clothed children.

(The WPA created 67 million articles of clothing for boys, 78 million for girls, 45 million for infants, and produced 29 million diapers. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)

8. Sheltered children.

(WPA nursery schools provided for the children of low-income families, as well as for the children of families whose parents were taking part in the war effort, e.g., soldiers, defense industry workers.)

(The WPA sheltered children affected by natural disasters. Skip to the 7-minute mark in the above video to see an example. Video source link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbINb4fkebM.)

9. Promoted good child care.

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

10. Raised awareness about dangerous diseases, built hospitals, and operated health clinics.

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

The PWA funded large hospital construction, and the WPA hired unemployed nurses, pharmacists, and others to operate mobile and fixed-location health clinics.

11. Created a cleaner America.

(WPA workers installing a sewer line in Allegany County, Maryland, in 1936.)

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

Various New Deal programs facilitated the installation of water lines, sewer lines, sewage disposal plants, and sanitary privies all across the country, creating a cleaner environment for children to grow up in. 

12. Created and promoted recreational opportunities.

(Basketball court and playground at Taylor Park in Keedysville, Maryland. Though these amenities are fairly new, Taylor park itself was created by the WPA in 1940.)

(WPA poster promoting a new recreation program, including a gym, table tennis, social recreation, basketball, arts, crafts, badminton, dramatics, volleyball, reading room, dancing, and games.)

The WPA built, repaired, or improved thousands of parks, athletic fields, stadiums, playgrounds, tennis courts, ice skating areas, and more. 

13. Provided toys to the children of low-income families.

(A WPA worker making a toy in Arizona in 1940. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.)

(The caption for this photograph reads, "WPA: Toy Repair Projects: toys and dolls mended by workers: many of the dolls are made available to underprivileged children through Toy Lending Libraries, given to WPA Nursery Schools, and some are given out at Christmas time for children to keep." Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)

A 1940 Associated Press article reported that "...some 2,000,000 toys would be distributed to underprivileged children this Christmas" by the WPA ("WPA To Distribute Toys," Baltimore Sun, December 15, 1940). 

14. Encouraged children to be creative and artistic.

(Children painting in a WPA nursery. Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)

 (The WPA frequently promoted children's art and put children's art on display. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)

15. Promoted safety.

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

**********

It's a shame that American youth don't have a New Deal today, to assist their learning and to assist their transition into adulthood. Indeed, considering the federal government they do have, I'd say they're actually getting ripped-off by a raw deal. 

Social Security: Our (New Deal) Plain Duty

An interesting 5-minute video from the FDR Presidential Library and Museum:

The Nightmare of an Employer's Market

(Hiring sign in West Virginia. Photo by Brent McKee.)

When the supply of labor is far greater than the demand for labor, both workers and the unemployed suffer. If employers have a vast pool of unemployed workers to choose from, they lower wages, choose not to offer benefits, refuse to allow time for on-the-job training, avoid pay raises, etc.

As this sign shows, the job market is so terrible right now that some employers are unwilling to train people for even low-wage jobs.

Another sign of an employer's market are idiotic job interview questions, such as "If you were a box of cereal, what would you be?" (See "Employers weed out job candidates with off-the-wall questions"). If we had an employee's market, however, businesses would be more reluctant to ask such absurd and juvenile questions. Instead of trying to determine if someone would be a box of Cocoa Puffs or a box of Captain Crunch, employers would focus more on the person's ability to do the job.

The WPA Restored Dignity

"This horrible way of livin' with almost nothin' lasted up until Roosevelt...When the WPA came in, we soon got to work. The people, their own selves, as they would get jobs on WPA, they quit goin' to the relief station. They just didn't want the food. They'd go in and say, 'You know, this is my last week, 'cause I go to work next week.' The Negro and the white would do this, and it sort of simmered down until only people who were on relief were people who were disabled. Or the families where there weren't no man or no one to go out and work on the WPA."

--Emma Tiller, farmer who lived through the Great Depression, in "Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression," by Studs Terkel, 1970.

(Note: The WPA also made efforts to find work opportunities for the disabled.)    

11 Ways the WPA Helped Protect Our Wildlife

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

"The necessity of preserving our wildlife has been difficult for Americans to understand...Before the transcontinental railroad was built, sixty million buffalo roamed the plains of the United States; now barely five thousand survive, and only in protected areas." 

     "The slaughter of the buffalo is rivaled only by the amazingly complete extermination of the passenger pigeon, flights of which at one time 'darkened the sun for hours on end.' The Carolina paroquet, the heath hen, the Pallas cormorant, and the giant mink are among the once numerous vanished species. The grizzly bear, the California condor, and the sea otter have become rare. Many other species are fast approaching extinction."

--WPA writers, in "American Wildlife, Illustrated," New York: J.J. Little and Ives, Co., 1940.

11 Ways the WPA Helped Protect Our Wildlife:

1. Promotional Posters

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

2. Built, Improved, & Promoted Zoos and Aquariums

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

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

Not everyone would agree that zoos and aquariums are good for wildlife, but zoos and aquariums do more than simply display animals--they also engage in research, endangered species propagation, and animal rescue efforts. Also, a trend over the last few decades is to enlarge animal enclosures and make them more natural in appearance. And, for many people, their first live view of many animals species comes at a zoo or aquarium. This contact can make people realize the importance of our planet's biodiversity. 

3. Created, Improved, and Promoted Parks

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

(Sign at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the eastern shore of Maryland, referring to the Delmarva Fox Squirrel. The WPA was heavily involved in the development of this huge natural treasure. Photo by Brent McKee.) 

The WPA created or improved 8,000 parks across America. These natural areas provide refuge for many animals.

4. Facilitated Wildlife Research

(Photo courtesy of Yathin S. Krishnappa, and used under Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.)

By creating protected natural areas, and scientific buildings, the WPA created venues for scientists to perform valuable research. For example, the WPA was instrumental in creating Patuxent Research Refuge (Maryland). During the 1960s and 70s, scientists working at Patuxent found that the pesticide DDT thinned the egg shells of birds, including the Bald Eagle. This research finding, and subsequent restrictions on DDT, helped prevent the possible extinction of our national symbol. 

5. Replenished Aquatic Stocks

 (WPA workers constructing a fish hatchery in Frederick County, Maryland. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.) 

(WPA workers loading oyster shells onto a boat in Crisfield, Maryland, for planting in the Chesapeake Bay. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)  

A legitimate argument can be made--in certain situations--that restocking wildlife excuses, or encourages, over-fishing and over-hunting. But such philosophical or policy discussions were beyond the purview of the WPA; their task was to bring certain species to higher levels. And they did. For example, WPA workers built or improved 455 fish hatcheries and planted over 8 million bushels of oysters. 

6. Increased and Promoted Outdoor Opportunities

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

The WPA created thousands of recreational opportunities for Americans. For example, WPA workers built 65 new ski jumps and created 310 miles of new ski trails. People who enjoy outdoor activities appreciate the need for natural areas--natural areas that just happen to be home to various wildlife.

7. Planted and Protected Trees

 (Image is in the public domain, courtesy of http://karenswhimsy.com/.)

WPA laborers planted 176 million trees, and they engaged in projects to protect trees against insects and diseases. Trees are, of course, vital to the planet's wildlife.

8. Provided Food & Shelter

  (Image is in the public domain, courtesy of Ken Thomas and Wikipedia.)

"The protection of birds and other wildlife was furthered by the construction and placement of shelter houses, feeding stations, and sanctuaries." (From the "Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43," by the Federal Works Agency, 1946)   

9. Controlled Pollution and Promoted A Clean Environment

(A WPA-built sewage disposal plant in Thurmont, Maryland. Image courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.) 

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

The WPA built sewage treatment plants, installed thousands of miles of sewer lines, and constructed 2.3 million sanitary privies (outhouses) all across the nation. Not the most glamorous work, but essential to the health of our environment and wildlife. 

10. Fought Wildfires

(Public domain image, courtesy of http://www.wpclipart.com/.)

The WPA constructed over 6,000 miles of firebreaks, fought fires directly, and built fire lookout towers.

11. Educated the Public

 (Front cover of the WPA book "American Wildlife, Illustrated," 1940. Photo by Brent McKee.)

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

The WPA focused heavily on teaching art to children. On one WPA project, children learned how to sketch animals at the Baltimore Zoo ("Children Sketch Animals in WPA Art Class," Baltimore Sun, August 21, 1938). Such instruction undoubtedly instilled in children an appreciation for art and wildlife.

Too bad our wildlife, and our children, don't have a WPA today.

Our Forests & Parks Need a New WPA

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

A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service highlights the threats our natural areas face, due to climate change, as we progress through the 21st century: Increased wildfires, higher levels of invasive species, more tree destruction by the bark beetle, and greater frequency of floods & erosion (report available here). Indeed, an increase in damage has already begun. For example, William Sommers, professor at George Mason University, and former director of fire research for the U.S. Forest Service notes, "Fire activity has definitely increased in terms of overall activity and acreage burned, and that's not just in the United States" (see "U.S. Wildfires Map Reveals Rising Menace").

During the Great Depression, the WPA built firebreaks to prevent the spread of fires, destroyed "noxious weeds," protected trees from "destructive insects," and engaged in flood & erosion control activities (e.g., small dams, drainage, and flood diversion). Further, WPA workers planted trees, built fire lookout towers, and built ranger stations. (From the "Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43," by the Federal Works Agency, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946)

Today, there are 26 million Americans who would like a full-time job but can't find one (http://njfac.org/), and there are "Nearly 6.5 million U.S. teens and young adults (who) are neither in school nor in the workforce" (see Annie E. Casey Foundation press release--with a link to their policy report--at "Youth Unemployment Soars in Past Decade").

The CCC Improved Young Men's Lives

(CCC statue at Granbrill State Park, Frederick Counnty, Maryland)

"I am over 62 and consider the CCC the happiest period in my life, and I have met others who feel the same. We were disciplined and worked hard during work hours but the government took good care of us, and our free time was a happy association with fine youths. When I went into the CCC, I got my belly filled with the best nourishing food I'd seen in years. I got the first complete outfit of good clothing I had in nearly nine years. I had a fine doctor for the first time in my life and a fine hospital. I got $5 per month and $25 was sent home to help my family who desperately needed it, and I was taught some skills. It is a pity that today's youth can't have the huge Conservation Corps that we had. It would solve youth crime, youth unemployment and benefit the nation, like our forestry work, dams, roads and bridges did in the thirties."

--Manuel R. Martinez, CCC Alumni, in the book, "Roosevelt's Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps," by Perry H. Merrill, 1981.

Happy Birthday CCC!

(A CCC-built structure at Fort Frederick State Park in Washington County, Maryland) 

April 2013 marks the 80th birthday of the CCC. And though we have unwisely chosen not to reinstate (and make permanent) the CCC, its legacy lives on in our forests and parks, and also in the memories of its alumni.

To see some 80th birthday events, visit http://www.ccclegacy.org/80th_CCC_Anniversary.html.

Two Approaches to Misery

During the Great Depression, FDR and his administration responded to misery in certain & strong ways, i.e., the New Deal.

In our current 5-year long recession/stagnation--as 26 million people desire full-time work but can't find it (http://njfac.org/)--our political "leaders" are also responding to misery in a certain way.

Let's compare:

Problem or Item	During the New Deal	Today
Joblessness	Hire unemployed workers in programs like the WPA & CCC	Ignore the jobless; then furlough & lay-off government workers and government contractors
Senior Citizen Poverty	Create Social Security	Constantly threaten to reduce or get rid of Social Security
Lay offs	Facilitate the creation/expansion of unemployment insurance	Cut back unemployment insurance and drug test the unemployed
Infrastructure	Engage in the largest work and construction program in human history	Ignore deteriorating infrastructure, even after the American Society of Civil Engineers gives us a D+ in their recent infrastructure report card
Post Offices	Build 1,100 of them; part of the massive nationwide effort to increase work & construction	Sell the historic post office buildings, and the publicly-funded art inside the buildings, to private developers and individuals (i.e., sell our heritage)
Public Parks	Create and improve them	Cut their budgets, despite their huge positive economic effect for America
Unemployed Veterans	Give World War I veterans opportunities to work in the CCC, a program otherwise geared towards young adults	Senate Republicans block a bill to create a new CCC-type program for unemployed vets
The Stock Market and Financial System	Create the SEC and regulate against various types of fraud	Dilly-dally for 5-years, never really reforming anything, despite wide-spread securities fraud, insider trading, and money laundering

The Reverse New Deal: Destroying Millions to Benefit a Few

Journalist Jennifer Bendery has an interesting piece on the Huffington Post today, "Missing in Action: Congress Ignores America's Poverty Crisis."

Bendery writes: "...tens of millions of the nation's most vulnerable are taking hits on all sides. The nation's poverty rate is frozen at a high of 15 percent. And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, for the most part, aren't even talking about it...Obama, too, has been largely silent on the issue, and has even proposed cutting Social Security -- a key tool for combating poverty......According to the Census Bureau, the nation's poverty rate is at its highest level in decades. More than 46 million people -- one in seven Americans -- are living below the poverty line, 16.4 million of them children. Another 30 million Americans are just a lost job or serious illness away from joining them. And in the last six years alone, more than 20 million people have joined the ranks of those relying on food stamps to get by...Meanwhile, the rich are only getting richer. Income inequality in the United States is greater now than at any time since 1929. It has gotten so severe that, according to a report by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, low-earning workers in the United States are actually worse off than low-earning workers in all but seven similarly developed countries."

Hmmm...as many wealthy Americans--and many wealthy people around the world--have put $21-32 trillion dollars in offshore, tax-evading bank accounts (see here), our political "leaders" are working hard to cut Social Security, lay off public sector workers, and gut social programs because "we can't afford it." Even the people who faced bullets and bombs for us are not safe from the wrath of our wealthy Congressmen. In 2012, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have created a CCC-type program for unemployed veterans (see here). Get it? The super-wealthy are enjoying a historically high share of our nation's wealth--and many have secret bank accounts in foreign countries--but we can't afford to hire the unemployed men and women who risked their lives and lost their limbs for us.

The Reverse New Deal has arrived.