Tuesday,
December 16, 2008
Obama's "New Vision" to Use FDR's
"New Deal" as Guidepost? Copied From Mussolini
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
first 13 years of Mussolini rule, 1922-35, (it was a series of missteps
thereafter ) was so effective that he was highly admired by the
leaders of Britain, France, and Mussolini
It
is partially documented in "Three New Deals:
Reflections on Roosevelt
http://www.amazon.com/Three-New-Deals-Reflections-Roosevelts/dp/080507452X
FDR
sent a delegation to visit with Mussolini, and adopted many of his reforms
including but not limited to the Social Security Act, the FDIC, the
Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Emergency Banking Relief Act,
the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Federal Securities Act, Unemployment
Benefits, and those cited below.
Mussolini
was criticized by some for his harsh treatment of Communists, but was applauded and replicated in Western Europe and
the
WHAT WAS THE "BIG DEAL" OF FDR
American
Chronicle
by Gary Ater
December
11, 2008
I forget sometimes, that there is very little
Most of these younger Americans have no idea as to what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt4s "New Deal" was, or
how it came to change and grow
One of those obviously younger, on-line readers recently responded to my
article about a possible "New,
New Deal" from President-Elect Obama for today4s
I guess, a question like that today, from someone that is under 30 years of age
and had only attended local American public schools, that is
probably a very fair question.
If we don4t take into consideration the tremendous, positive psychological
effect that the first 100 days of FDR4s "New Deal" presidency had on all of America,
there are still substantial physical examples today of what occurred from 1933
on, that demonstrate why the "New
Deal" was such a "big
deal" for most working Americans.
BIG DEAL RESULTS:
Roosevelt4s vast government development programs and the results of what became
known as the "alphabet soup
of government agencies" were as follows:
The CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)
The CCC was
disbanded after only 9 years. The agency was disbanded, so that its members
could join the military to fight for the
3 billion trees had been planted, 800 state parks had been developed, 20
million acres of land had been saved from soil erosion, 125,000 miles of trails
had been cleared, (including
those for the first ever, down-hill skiing resort in the US, in Stowe, Vermont)
The CCC was also
responsible for inspiring the service programs that eventually became the: Job Corps, Peace Corps, VISTA, &
AmeriCorps, plus thousands of smaller, community service agencies.
FDR eventually became known as "The
Father of American National Service."
The PWA (Public Works Administration)
More than any other New Deal
program, the PWA
epitomized the notion of "priming
the pump" to encourage economic growth. Between July 1933 and
March 1939, the PWA
funded the construction of more than 34,000 projects, including airports,
electricity-generating dams, aircraft carriers; and seventy percent of the new
schools and one third of the hospitals built during that time. It also
electrified the Pennsylvania
Railroad between
The PWA
spent over $6 billion in all of its projects. The historical legacy of the PWA is perhaps as important as
its practical accomplishments at the time. It provided the federal government
with its first systematic network for the distribution of US funds to state
localities. It ensured that America4s conservation would remain an element in
the national discussion, and it provided the federal administrators with a
broad amount of badly needed experience in public policy planning.
When FDR moved industry toward war production and abandoned his opposition on
deficit spending, the PWA
then became irrelevant and was abolished in June 1941.
The NRA (National Recovery Act)
The bill that formed the NRA was the biggest news of its time. It made changes
that still exist to this day. It created public works projects, abolished child
labor and set the first federal minimum wage at $12 dollars for a 40 hour week.
It also eliminated antitrust regulation and established thousands of price and
production codes for many industries.
The American public liked the program, as it symbolized forward motion against
the Great Depression.
In 1933, there were pro-NRA
marches with 250,000 Americans marching down New York4s Fifth Avenue. And there were
large marches in other cities all over the country. Shopkeepers everywhere hung
the NRA4s emblem, a
blue eagle, in their window, with the legend saying: "We Do Our Part".
Over time, the NRA
led indirectly to the widespread adoption of humane working conditions and new
work place safety standards. It also offered the opportunity to recognize, for
the first time, the right of workers "to
organize and bargain collectively". The "American Labor Movement"
finally had the backing of
The TVA Act of 1933 (
Even by Depression standards, the
The TVA developed
fertilizers, taught farmers how to improve crop yields, and helped replant
forests, control forest fires, and improve habitat for wildlife and fish.
The most dramatic change in Valley life came from the electricity generated by
the TVA dams.
Electric lights and modern appliances made life easier and farms more
productive. Eventually, having electricity also drew industries into the
region, providing desperately needed jobs.
The CWA (Civil Works Administration)
The CWA
was established as a temporary organization during the Great Depression, to
solely create paying jobs for millions of America4s unemployed. The jobs were
merely temporary for the duration of the hard winter of 1933. Harry L. Hopkins
was put in charge of the short-term organization by President Roosevelt, who
unveiled the CWA on November 8, 1933.
The CWA was a project
created under the Federal
Emergency Relief Administration.
The CWA created
construction jobs, mainly improving or constructing buildings and bridges. It
ended in 1934, after costing $200 million a month. So much was spent in such a
short time, because it allowed the CWA
to hire 4 million unemployed people. This probably saved these people4s lives
while providing a small, but initial jump-start for the
The WPA (Works Progress Administration)
Renamed in 1939, to the Work
Projects Administration, was the largest of the New Deal agencies,
employing millions of people and affecting most every locality in the
The WPA continued and
extended relief programs similar to the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation (RFC) started by Herbert Hoover and the U.S. Congress in 1932.
However,
Also headed up by Harry L. Hopkins, the WPA
provided jobs and income to the unemployed during the Great Depression. Between
1935 and 1943 the WPA
provided almost 8 million jobs. The program built many public buildings,
projects and roads and even operated large art, drama, media and literacy
projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing and housing. At that
time, almost every community in
Few Americans today understand that the many roads and public projects, they
now take for granted, began with FDR4s "New
Deal". This includes the
The final totals in the
Until it was closed down by Congress, when the war preparation and
building-boom took over in 1943, the various programs of the WPA added up to
the largest employment base in the country.
Anyone who needed a job could become eligible for most of its jobs. Hourly
wages were the prevailing wages in the local areas, and the rules said workers
could not work more than 30 hours a week. However, many of the larger projects
included months of working in the field, with workers eating and sleeping on
the worksites.
There was training involved in teaching new skills and the project
So, for those that ask "What4s
the big deal about FDR4s "New Deal"? Well, here4s the
answer.
WHAT IF THE "NEW DEAL" HADN4T HAPPENED?
For those Libertarians and conservatives that say: "Government should stay out of people4s
lives. All that government should do is provide for
our defense, protect our borders and ports and build roads and dams."
If the
Many Americans in the 19304s, had admired the Italian
Dictator Mussolini and Adolf Hitler had just come to power in
In reality, FDR and the US Government, jumped in and did what individual
Americans were incapable of doing for themselves. Had the Republican, US President Herbert Hoover
continued in power, his lack of action would have prevented America4s economic
recovery, and the US would then not have eventually become the greatest nation
in the world.
So, in today4s down economy, will a President Obama take an up-dated approach
to that of FDR?
All I know is that the new president-elect is a great student and admirer of
both Abraham Lincoln and FDR.
And following the new American president and the country over the coming weeks
and months, should turn out to be very interesting.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/84605
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