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.