⦁ After the elections of 1934, Harry Hopkins thought that Government -based reformers should devise permanent versions of New Deal social policy experiments and congressional reform proposal and induce the president to place them before Congress; because he saw a special need for public employment.
⦁ During the Second New Deal of 1935, Franklin Roosevelt wanted to create a modern social policy destined to outlive the Depression.
⦁ When Americans think today of the policy breakthroughs of 1935, we are most likey to remember: The Social Security Act, The National Old Age Insurance(OAI) or the Aid to Dependent Children(ADC). The taxation initiative that Americans are most likely to remember is Roosevelt's "soak-the-rich" proposal of that year.
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⦁ The program that absorbed the greatest amount of both public spending and public attention was the "Works Program" - public employment mainly through the Works Progress Administration(WPA). Its priority was so great that it was brought before Congress ahead the Economic Security Act, as the security bill was initially called. ⦁ As for the latter legislation, the program attracting the greatest interest was Old-Age Assistance(OAA) nor, OAI. ⦁ The legilsation had far less fiscal impact than did payroll taxes for social insurance, which soaked a decidely less-than-rich group. ⦁ In adopting a work program and security measures, Roosevelt and Hopkins declared that the federal government would end it's support to those not fitting a special category, such as the age or dependent children. ⦁ This chapter presents the story of creation of a modern American social policy, based on work and relief. It starts with the legislative developments which mattered most. A. Launching a work and relief state in the Second New Deal: Employment, Stipends, and the Retirement Principle ⦁ The best known account is The Development of Social Security Act, the book-length memorandum of Edwin Wite, the executive secretary of the Committee on Economic Security(CES). According to Witte, the catalyst was congressional deliberation over bills for unemployment compensation and old-age pensions. ⦁ The Wagner-Lewis bill of 1934 envisioned during using the taxing powers of the federal governement to induce states to pass unemployment compensation laws of their own design. ⦁ The old-age proposal, known as the Dill-Connery bill, by the middle of 1934 had already pension programs, but could not fund them all adequately. The Dill-Connery bill passed the House in 1933 and 1934 and very nearly the Senate in 1934. ⦁ On June 8 Roosevelet announce the creation of the Committee on Economic Security(CES) and charged it with constructing a comprehensive economic security policy. ⦁ The committee's deliberations were framed by the Technical Board and the staff of the CES; ⦁ Witte was appointed, the committee was allotted 87,500$ from the Federal Emergency Relief for the work project. ⦁ By the end of the year it was time to turn in the the final reports and a proposal. But Witte's account has one important gap in it: the administration's most pressing concern, its "Work Program". The program it's missing because the group working on "public employment and relief" was separated from the CES proper and form the economic security legislation; being lost from Witte's sight. ⦁ The works program was Roosevelt's top priority in social policy, believing that national employment was an essential part of guaranteeing economic security. B. The first Campaign for Welfare Reform: Work Relief for the "Employable" ⦁ On January 4, 1935, Roosevelt inaugurated America's first effort at welfare reform. He also signaled the end of the Ferra. In denouncing "dole relief" he reffered to two unpopular aspects of recent policy: the open-ended provision of cash payments to the able-bodied unemployed and the corrupt provision of grocery orders to those employed on work projects. ⦁ The joint resolution authorizing the appropiation for the works program was drafted in the late December 1934 and placed before Congress on January 21; it received $4.9 billion, giving the president the authority to fund all manner of work projects and public works.
⦁ The Resolution was approved by the president on 11 April.
⦁ The authority to spend the appropriation was granted partialy to Harold Ickes, who was named to head an Advisory Committee on Allotments. Hopkins shared power over the program(placed over "The Works Progress Administration", limited authority over project choice). Hopkins and the WPA were freed from Ickes' committee by September and work relief took off. (because Hopkins was willing too spend too much money - poker).
⦁ Civil Works Administration(CWA) and Works Progress Administration(WPA) programs differed. CWA was closely tied to FERA and state-level emergency relief organizations, WPA was entirely a Washington operation and initially under the control of the president.
⦁ The WPA bought national control over the selection of the labor-intensive works projects; could not compete with private business, because the works program was to employ almost exclusively able-bodies workers, one per family.
⦁ Roosevelt's goal was to move the employable from the dole to
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work. ⦁ WPA wages were lower than CWA, but paid a combination of "security" wage and a "prevailing" wage.
WPA work was to be paid with a monthly, security sum, and the number of hours worked to receive it were determined by the wages prevailing for the type of work. This prevailing wage rate was necessary to win the support of organized labor, which did not want to undercut the by low-wage WPA labor.
⦁ The WPA was supplemented by the National Youth Administration(NYA), created in June 1935, and led by Aubrey Williams of the FERA. NYA was designed to provide employment and job training to youths and encouraged college education.
⦁ The appropriations for the works program were to bolster the operations of the Civilian Conservation Corps: remained committed to the national conservation projects that had begun in 1933.
⦁ The WPA itself was created be an executive order; so there was no legislation establishing an entitlement to jobs for individuals meeting standard criteria, and there were no standards setting the number of jobs per year or their allotment across political units.
⦁ The WPA held a radical promise: it could not discriminate against racial or ethnic groups, unlike social insurance.
⦁ The ultimate authority for the program was the
president. C. Relief for the Deserving "Unemployable"- the Aged and Dependent Children ⦁ The bill included titles for national grants-in-aid for a number of groups "unempoyable": the aged and the families without breadwinners. But the two most fiscally consequential programs were Old-Age Assistance and Aid to Dependent Children. ⦁ OAA was the selling point of the economic security bill to Congress.Title 1 of the bill provided that the federal government would match state and local spending for old-age pensions, up to fifteen dollars per month, and approximately $30 millions for the first year. ⦁ Although the committee stipulated that states must provide OAA pensions at a level allowing "a resonable subsistence compatible decency and health" Congress eliminated this provision, but the legislation gave states the option to keep benefit levels low and eligibility standards high. ⦁ Congress created the Social Security Board to administer OAA: rules varied enourmously and benefits varied regional in the cost of living warranted.
A Relief Committee was set up to assist people. The committee was given the task of organizing and distributing food, supplies, and money to all those in need. Contributions for almost everything came in from around the world, totaling up to almost $5,000,000. The political economy made sure that even though the main focus was on reconstruction, that men were continuing to receive fair retirement. They were also determined to keep the doors open and full of opportunities for future young men.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was a package of economic programs that were made and proposed from 1933 up to 1936. The goals of the package were to give relief to farmers, reform to business and finance, and recovery to the economy during the Great Depression.
New Deal programs, such as the W.P.A., were supposed to provide work equally, but this was not the case. Jobs in the south were often given to whites over blacks making it nearly impossible for blacks to make a living. One writer criticizes the Works Progress Administration, a large part of the New Deal, and asks, “do the government insist on Jim Crow on the W.P.A. projects?” (McElvaine, 89). The Great Depression impacted everyone but the african-americans had to face poverty and discrimination
This made the government spend a lot of their money on programs to help recover all the lost jobs and to give businesses the confidence to spend money also. When the businesses saw that the government was actually willing to spend money it gave the business owners confidence to spend their money. Once the money started circulating around the economy would start slowly growing. The New Deal Programs were diverse relief schemes such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Public Works Administration (PWA), Civil Works Administration and the National Recovery Administration (NRA).
In his presidential acceptance speech in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed to the citizens of the United States, “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” The New Deal, beginning in 1933, was a series of federal programs designed to provide relief, recovery, and reform to the fragile nation. The U.S. had been both economically and psychologically buffeted by the Great Depression. Many citizens looked up to FDR and his New Deal for help. However, there is much skepticism and controversy on whether these work projects significantly abated the dangerously high employment rates and pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression. The New Deal was a bad deal for America because it only provided opportunities for a few and required too much government spending.
The WPA was, as stated before, a New Deal agency. Harry Hopkins was the head of the WPA. The WPA provided millions of jobs for Americans. The WPA employed 3.4 million people. They employed citizens of both genders, but 13.5% of the WPA employees were women. The aim of WPA was to create public projects that would last a long time. By 1943, the WPA had built
The New Deal advocated for women's economic and social rights immensely, giving them new opportunities and a more prominent role in the work force. Many African Americans gained new jobs and opportunities through the New Deals policies, “2,117,000 Negroes were in families receiving relief in the United States”(doc 16). Low-cost public housing was made available to black families, as well as other minorities who needed the economic relief. The National Youth Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps permitted black youths to continue schooling and The Work Projects Administration gave jobs to many African Americans.
AAA, CCC, TVA etc.) The Alphabet Agencies provided work for millions: unemployment fell from a peak of 14.9 million in 1933 to 10 million four years later. The income of farmers doubled between 1932 and 1939 as a result of the AAA. 2.5 million People were employed in the CCC. Around 200,000 black Americans gained benefits from the CCC and other New Deal Agencies. Many benefited from slum clearance programmes and housing projects. TVA regenerated and bought electricity to a large area with 7 million people benefitting. Many new airports, roads, schools and hospitals were built by the Alphabet Agencies. These benefited American society long
In a time of dire need there is always at least a sliver of hope that remains, a light that never goes out despite the darkness around. If this is the case, for a time such as the Great Depression than what was that “sliver of hope” or that “light in the darkness”, so to speak? Although President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s other efforts are much appreciated, the “light” of the Great Depression is, hands down, the Works Progress Administration. Why? The Great Depression was a time of despair and unfortunate events for all citizens of the United States; left and right, the homeless and the jobless were seen forlornly sauntering the streets seeking jobs that could and would not be found. It is in this instance that the Works Progress Administration takes the stage, created by President Franklin Roosevelt, the WPA’s sole reason of existence was to employ the jobless by funding public works projects. With these projects the unemployed were given jobs and projects were carried out such as the photography projects of the Farm Security Administration. Among the most famous photographers of these projects are Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and Russell Lee.
It would be erroneous to assume that Roosevelt’s New Deal policies did not change America—they did. Although most of the New Deal programs no longer exist today, there were some policies that were integral to the advancement of American society. The most notable of these was the Social Security Act of 1935. Social security helped expand the governmental role of the president and was the blueprint for future welfare programs.
The Works Progress Act, one of many programs offered by his New Deal, offered hundreds of thousands of unemployed and unskilled workers job opportunities. The purpose of the program was to end the depression or at least diminish some of the damage it had done, and give all citizens an equal opportunity to earn money for themselves and
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is a corporation. Weber, Cameron M.. " How Flexible was the Works Progress Administration in Responding to Unemployment during the Great Depression?" . N. p.. Web. The Web.
The United States faced the worst economic downfall in history during the Great Depression. A domino effect devastated every aspect of the economy, unemployment rate was at an all time high, banks were declaring bankruptcy and the frustration of the general public led to the highest suicide rates America has ever encountered. In the 1930’s Franklin D Roosevelt introduced the New Deal reforms, which aimed to “reconcile democracy, individual liberty and economic planning” (Liberty 863). The New Deal reforms were effective in the short term but faced criticism as it transformed the role of government and shaped the lives of American citizens.
Several of the policies created to specifically help the jobless during that time were, Emergency Relief Appropriations Act (1935) run by the Public Works Administration (PWA), designed for the construction of public building, roads, dams and other projects. Federal Project No. 1, also run by PWA, gave jobs to writers, musicians, and artist.
The New Deal was established with the intention of improving lives, saving capitalism, and providing a degree of economic security. In 1935, President Roosevelt passed the Social Security Act which, according to Katznelson, Kesselman, and Draper, “offered pensions and unemployment compensation to qualified workers, provided public assistance to the elderly and the blind, and created a new national program for poor single mothers” (332). This act allowed states to set the benefit level for welfare programs, which was set quite low (Katznelson, Kesselman, & Draper, 331-334). The Great Society programs were established by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 when Johnson declared war on poverty. This would be the action that initiates the Great Society program.