After big business promises not to discriminate against the long-term unemployed, the number of long-term unemployed Americans rises by 200,000

Above: New Deal policymakers didn't rely on the word of Corporate America with respect to hiring unemployed Americans, and for good reason. Instead, they simply hired over 10 million jobless Americans into public work & construction programs like the CWA, CCC, WPA, and NYA. In the photo above, we see some of these (formerly) jobless Americans on a bulkhead project on Hooper's Island in Maryland, 1938. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.

On January 31st, 2014, it was reported that about 300 businesses promised President Obama not to discriminate against the long-term unemployed. Among those business elites who signed the pledge were "21 of the top 50 and 47 of the top 200 largest companies ranked by Forbes Magazine..."

On March 7, 2014, a little over a month later, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of long-term unemployed Americans shot up by 200,000. So much for promises...

It looks like discrimination against the long-term unemployed--which has been proven by empirical research, not just anecdotal evidence--continues to flourish despite the promises (and crocodile tears) of Corporate America.

The promises of Corporate America are about as valuable as the happy-words and job search gimmicks that business leaders, academic administrators, and government officials have used to brush off encourage unemployed Americans for the past 5-6 years: "Hey, be an entrepreneur!" "Wow, be innovative!" Yippee, tap into your creative energy!" "Holy smokes, have you tried LinkedIn?!?" "Zowie! You just need some new skills!"

All this nonsense--the pledges, the happy-words, the job search gimmicks--are more about PR than substance. Business leaders, academic administrators, and government officials know that saying "be innovative" requires much less energy than changing the structural problems of the U.S. labor market that have persistently caused long-term unemployment, stagnant wages, bankruptcy, family breaks-ups, and increased rates of suicide. The simple fact of that matter is that there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone (let alone good jobs). That's why the labor force participation rate is at a 35-year low.

Above: In the audio above, we hear President Franklin Roosevelt explain why he and his fellow New Dealers created work & construction programs like the WPA and the CCC (the statement was made at Madison Square Garden in 1936): "We will provide useful work to the needy unemployed, because; we prefer useful work to the pauperism of a dole!" Unlike today's Democrats, who fight continuously for extended unemployment benefits but rarely for a public works program, and unlike today's Republicans & Tea Partiers, who consistently try to cut off extended unemployment benefits and tell the unemployed they should go on the church dole if they need help, New Deal policymakers believed that government could provide useful work as an alternative to long-term government cash relief, non-profit charity, or church hand outs. They believed in the dignity, hope, and skills that such useful work could preserve. The results were nothing short of phenomenal, which is why even Ronald Reagan praised the WPA. America's infrastructure was modernized and served as the backbone for America's post-World War II economic expansion. And we still utilize thousands of WPA projects today. Image courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. Audio courtesy of the Miller Center, University of Virginia.              

The human brain subjected to trickle-down economics

This is your brain:

This is your brain on trickle-down economics:

 

(Images courtesy of clker.com)

The New Deal and Malaria

(CWA workers on a malaria control project in Arkansas, circa 1933-1934. Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)

New Deal programs were instrumental in the virtual elimination of malaria from the United States. For example, Dr. Carl Kitchens writes: "Malaria was effectively eradicated in the United States by 1950" and "The magnitude of the observed drop in malaria mortality attributable to the WPA is very large" ("The Effects of the Works Progress Administration's Anti-Malaria Programs to Control Malaria: Georgia 1932-1947," Explorations in Economic History 50(4), pp 567-581, 2013).

Indeed, New Deal programs were so effective in helping to eliminate malaria from the United States that (I would bet) most Americans don't even know that malaria was ever a problem here. Isn't that amazing? New Deal programs assisted in the eradication of a deadly disease, but then we completely forgot about this achievement because it was so successful that it erased the problem from our minds. And now, right-wing politicians, pundits, authors, and Internet comment-makers all across the country tell us that the New Deal was a failure, that WPA workers were lazy good-for-nothings, that New Deal projects were boondoggles, and that all the great things about America actually came from the holy "job creators," not from Darth Vader's evil "big government!!" And millions of Americans believe this garbage, and vote accordingly. Wow, what a slap in the face to the thousands of public workers who helped eliminate a deadly disease for us, thereby saving the lives of many Americans. What a great case study in national memory loss (or national ingratitude, take your pick).

According to the World Health Organization, "there were about 207 million cases of malaria in 2012...and an estimated 627,000 deaths...Most deaths occur among children living in Africa where a child dies every minute from malaria." WPA workers--and workers in other New Deal programs--played a vital role in keeping this type of tragedy from happening to us. Maybe we should show some respect. Maybe we should applaud this, and other accomplishments of the WPA, as both Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan did. And maybe America, and the world, should implement a new and even stronger New Deal, instead of relying on the holy "job creators" who sip champagne and tell us, for example, "it's fantastic" that the 85 richest people on the planet have as much wealth as the three and a half billion poorest--among whom include those children who are dying every minute from malaria.

(WPA workers on a malaria control project in Georgia, 1936. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and the New Deal Network.)

(The caption for this 1942 photograph reads: "Wilson Dam, Alabama (Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)). Testing insecticide for malaria-carrying mosquito at malaria control laboratory. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)

(A headline from the Baltimore Sun newspaper, December 17, 1933. The Civilian Conservation Corps engaged in many mosquito control projects across the United States.)

Considering some of the mosquito problems in the United States today (see, e.g., "Mosquitoes are worse this summer in parts of USA" and "CDC issues warning about painful virus from mosquitoes") wouldn't it be nice if our Congress stopped coddling the holy "job creators," and started offering real job opportunities for America's long-term unemployed workers, in programs similar to the WPA and CCC?

The WPA brought communities together

In a variety of ways, the WPA brought communities together. Recreational projects were created, community centers were built, WPA artists highlighted local events (see image above), free classes were offered in the arts & crafts, concerts were performed, and much more.

Today, such government activity--especially if it simultaneously helped the unemployed--would be labeled as "wasteful spending!!" and "socialism!!" Far superior, in the eyes of many, is to (a) coddle greedy executives & wealthy investors, (b) keep government (and unions) off their backs, (c) turn a blind-eye to white collar crime, and (d) lovingly accept whatever unsafe, low-pay, no-benefit, zero-future jobs Corporate America offers us. And, unlike the activities of the WPA, this submission to Corporate America is driving communities apart. Wealth & income inequality is becoming more extreme every year and the American Dream has been effectively neutralized by those who value profit over country.

See, "Why are US corporate profits so high? Because wages are so low" and "The 85 Richest People In The World Have As Much Wealth As The 3.5 Billion Poorest."

So, which do you prefer? Governmental action that would bring communities together, or the current governmental & cultural submission to Corporate America that is driving communities apart?

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

The Great American Infrastructure Oblivion, 2008-2014

Above: Construction safety expert Timothy Galarnyk describes America's infrastructure problem. He states: "The United States of America is the best country in the entire world. But our infrastructure is falling to the condition of a third world nation. Our bridges are in bad condition. Our roads, our dams...our flood protection, our sewers, our water, our electrical grids, and all of our infrastructure, including our airports, need our attention." Galarnyk hosted the televison show Inspector America, which highlighted deteriorating infrastructure across the country. He's interested in bringing the show back and has a Facebook page where people can show support: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inspector-America/198236116884346.

*****

On February 4, 2014, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said, "The country is in a disaster when it comes to infrastructure. ... Bridges are falling down, roads are crumbling. We need a big, bold vision in Washington." A few days later, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich wrote, "We need a new WPA to rebuild the nation's crumbling infrastructure..."

In 2013, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave American Infrastructure a letter grade of D+, noting significant problems with America's airports, bridges, water utilities, parks, and more.

Today, there are 3.6 million Americans who are classified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as long-term unemployed, there are 24 million Americans who wish they had a full-time job but can't find one, and the labor force participation rate is at a 35-year low.

Above: In 2011, U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced legislation called the "21st Century WPA Act." This new WPA would have hired unemployed Americans to engage in the following types of projects: "residential and commercial water use (improvement)," "highway, bridge, and rail repair," "school, library, and firehouse construction," "trail maintenance," and more. The legislation received little or no support from President Obama, no support from Republican & Tea Party politicians, and little support even from Lautenberg's own fellow Democrats. Thus, the legislation died in committee. It died in committee despite high unemployment, deteriorating American infrastructure, and the proven success of the WPA during the Great Depression (as evidenced by our continued use of thousands of WPA projects). If you ever needed proof of a dysfunctional federal government--a government that has largely ignored the needs of the people and the country--this would be it. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

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During the New Deal, the Public Works Administration provided funds to private contractors to modernize American infrastructure. New Deal policymakers also hired well over 10 million unemployed Americans into the Civil Works Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the National Youth Administration. These formerly unemployed Americans built bridges, preserved historic sites, constructed schools, improved roads, developed parks, etc., etc., etc.

The result of all these New Deal initiatives? Well, the WPA alone built, repaired, or improved 650,000 miles of roads, highways, and streets. That's enough roadwork to circle the Earth 26 times. WPA workers also built, repaired, or improved thousands of bridges, schools, water lines, sewers, and more. As a researcher noted in 1943, "So vast have the WPA's achievements been that attempts to present them in quantitative terms only stagger the imagination." (The WPA and Federal Relief Policy, by Donald S. Howard, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1943).

Indeed, the WPA was so effective that even "limited government" icon Ronald Reagan praised it in his autobiography, writing: "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."

Above: A CCC worker, on a bridge construction project in New York state. The CCC built thousands of trails and bridges for our nation's parks. In 2012, Senate Democrats tried to create a new CCC-type program for unemployed veterans, offering work opportunities in our National Park system. Republicans blocked the legislation, even though (a) young veteran unemployment was high (and still is), (b) young veteran suicide was high (and still is), (c) unemployment can be a risk factor for suicide, and (d) the American Society of Civil Engineers, in 2009, noted a "$7 billion maintenance backlog" in our National Park system (which has since risen to $11 billion). Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum and the New Deal Network.

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Today, our federal policymakers are completely incapable of connecting the dots of a deteriorating infrastructure and a depressed labor market. Instead of providing more work to construction firms, and hiring the unemployed into public works programs, our Congressmen and women spend half their time bickering with each other and the other half seeking campaign contributions from the big banks and the multinational corporations that are constantly trying to ship more American jobs overseas. This is probably why Congress has a 13% approval rating. Interestingly, The Detroit News recently reported that Congressman John Dingell (D-Mich.)--the longest serving Congressman in history--decided to retire because of the "poisonous partisanship and...growing disregard for serving the interests of the people" that exists in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Welcome to the Great American Infrastructure Oblivion, 2008-2014.

(Don't forget to show support for Timothy Galarnyk's efforts to bring back Inspector America by visiting the show's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inspector-America/198236116884346.)

WPA Theatre: "If Ye Break Faith"

According to the book Dangerous Theatre: The Federal Theatre Project as a Forum for New Plays, by George Kazacoff, "If Ye Break Faith" was a play about 6 soldiers who return from the dead to discourage war and encourage peace. (WPA poster image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)

You might be living in a plutocracy if...(part 10 of 10)

(The caption for this photo reads, "The Lower West Side Health Center which PWA built in New York City." During the New Deal, many hospitals were built, repaired, or improved with PWA funds or WPA labor. New Deal policymakers thought that the health of citizens was more important than personal profit. Image courtesy of the National Archives and the New Deal Network.)

You might be living in a plutocracy if...

...right-wing millionaires & billionaires pay politicians to keep low-income Americans from voting, and also pay politicians to keep low-income Americans from receiving comprehensive healthcare.

Right-wing politicians across the country are trying to keep low-income Americans from voting, under the guise of trying to ferret out "voting fraud." They're limiting voting days and requiring various forms of identification, depending on which form of identification will be most difficult for low-income, and especially minority, voters (See, as just one example, "GOP Official Resigns After Saying Purpose Of Voter ID Is To Suppress Votes Of Democrats, ‘Lazy Blacks’").

Funny thing is, I don't remember right-wing politicians being overly concerned with voting fraud when George W. Bush was in office. But, after the first African American in U.S. history was elected president, right-wing politicians are suddenly very worried about "voting fraud!" Just a coincidence I'm sure.

 

(The caption for this photo reads, "WPA Traveling Health Clinic of the Board of Health, NY City, shown in consultation and fitting glasses for patients at 74 West 124st Street." The WPA frequently hired unemployed healthcare workers to provide medical services to low-income Americans. Photo courtesy of the National Archives and the New Deal Network.) 

Right-wing politicians are also preventing low-income Americans from receiving comprehensive healthcare. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), states can expand Medicaid to more of their low-income residents, and the federal government will pay the entire bill for the first few years and 90% thereafter. Despite this, many Republican-managed states have refused to expand Medicaid, thus sentencing their lower-income residents to shorter and less healthy lives (see, e.g., "I Watched My Patients Die of Treatable Diseases Because They Were Poor" and "27,000 May Die Next Year Because Republican Governors, Lawmakers Refuse to Expand Medicaid").

Now, we know that the billionaire Koch Brothers are major contributors to right-wing politicians, giving them millions. We also know that the Koch Brothers despise the ACA, and are spending millions to demonize the ACA (see, e.g., "Billionaire Koch Brothers Spending Millions To Deny Health Coverage To Low-Income Americans"). So, is it a coincidence that Republican-managed states have refused to expand Medicaid, even though it would cost them next-to-nothing to do so under the ACA?

This is an example of how plutocracy kills people, literally. The Kochs hate the ACA, the Kochs pay right-wing politicians to sabotage the ACA, right-wing politicians deny ACA Medicaid expansion to their low-income residents (in obedience to their Koch sugar daddies), and people die. Yes folks, people will die because right-wing politicians want more Koch money.

Is there anything more evil than millionaires & billionaires using their money to prevent low-income Americans from voting, and also to prevent them from receiving comprehensive healthcare?

This is plutocracy. A system of government that rips apart the entire moral fabric of a culture, and places money, greed, and selfishness above life, health, and happiness.