(cross-posted at The Dead Guy)
This is not a new concept. FDR and The New Deal. The late Senator Paul Simon's 1987 book by the same title as this post (Which I have a signed copy of - I had Senator Simon autograph it for me when he was in Iowa campaigning for the 1988 Democratic Presidential Nomination).
With a country that has resources and infrastructure in dire need of help, we need to put America back to work fixing these problems. Where could we start? Well, there are 10 pieces of U.S. infrastructure we must fix now!
And America needs jobs. The March 2008 unemployment rate is 5.1%. However, many thousands of unemployed workers fall off the rolls each month because they either can't find a job while on benefits or just plain give up. The US Dept of Labor defines "unemployed" as those who "do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work." It's not a true look at how many Americans are out of work at any given time. When you add in the discouraged, marginally attached, and those working part-time but can't find a full-time job - you end up with about 9% rate of unemployment.
The New Deal programs
- Civilian Conservation Corps
- Peak enrollment - August 1935 - 505,000 Americans
- "The corps operated numerous conservation projects, including prevention of soil erosion and the impounding of lakes. The CCC constructed many buildings and trails in city parks, state parks and national parks that are still used today. Other projects of the CCC included installation of telephone and power lines, construction of logging and fire roads, fence construction, tree-planting, and even beekeeping, archaeological excavation, and furniture manufacture. The CCC also provided the first truly organized wildland fire suppression crews and planted an estimated 5 billion trees for government agencies such as the United States Forest Service."
- Public Works Administration
- "More than any other New Deal program, the PWA epitomized the Rooseveltian 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, and 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 New York and Washington, D.C."
- Works Progress Administration
- The WPA employed a maximum of 3.3 million in November 1938.
- "Until closed down by Congress and the war boom in 1943, the various programs of the WPA added up to the largest employment base in the country - indeed, the largest cluster of government employment opportunities in most states. Anyone who needed a job could become eligible for most of its jobs.Hourly wages were the prevailing wages in the area; the rules said workers could not work more than 30 hours a week but many projects included months in the field, with workers eating and sleeping on worksites. Before 1940, there was some training involved in teaching new skills and the project's original legislation went forward with a strong emphasis on family, training and building people up."
21st Century New Deal
Once we have addressed
America's "Top 10" infrastructure problems, what could be next? Well, can you name a stretch of bridge, highway, public land that is in dire need in your area? Of course you can! And what if we still need to keep America working? Let's start on projects that moves America forward and keeps us a leader in the 21
st Century:
- Rebuild New Orleans!
- Wind farms and solar collection systems for clean, renewable energy and other energy alternatives
- Construct geothermal heating/cooling systems for all government buildings
- Updating sewer systems to be more efficient and environmentally sound
- Upgrade telecommunication networks (fiber optics, etc) across the country
- Reconfigure our waste management system in this country to reduce the need for landfills
And the list goes on ...
Will this cost some money? Yes. However, if projects are included that will offset those costs down the line (savings in energy, environmental solutions, etc) then we have not only upgraded to America 2.0 - we have put America back to work!