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The New New Deal: Relief, Recovery And Reform

On November 22, in his weekly radio address, President-Elect Obama said:

The news this week has only reinforced the fact that we are facing an economic crisis of historic proportions. Financial markets faced more turmoil. New home purchases in October were the lowest in half a century. 540,000 more jobless claims were filed last week, the highest in 18 years. And we now risk falling into a deflationary spiral that could increase our massive debt even further.

. . . I have already directed my economic team to come up with an Economic Recovery Plan that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011 — a plan big enough to meet the challenges we face that I intend to sign soon after taking office. We'll be working out the details in the weeks ahead, but it will be a two-year, nationwide effort to jumpstart job creation in America and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy. We'll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels; fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead.

[More . . .]

I know that passing this plan won't be easy. I will need and seek support from Republicans and Democrats, and I'll be welcome to ideas and suggestions from both sides of the aisle.

But what is not negotiable is the need for immediate action. Right now, there are millions of mothers and fathers who are lying awake at night wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's bills. There are Americans showing up to work in the morning only to have cleared out their desks by the afternoon. Retirees are watching their life savings disappear and students are seeing their college dreams deferred. These Americans need help, and they need it now.

The survival of the American Dream for over two centuries is not only a testament to its enduring power, but to the great effort, sacrifice, and courage of the American people. It has thrived because in our darkest hours, we have risen above the smallness of our divisions to forge a path towards a new and brighter day. We have acted boldly, bravely, and above all, together. That is the chance our new beginning now offers us, and that is the challenge we must rise to in the days to come. It is time to act. As the next president of the United States, I will. Thank you.

A time to act. Indeed. When faced with a seemingly even more momentous economic calamity, FDR acted, but he acted with purpose. And the purposes were those articulated by President-Elect Obama. The FDR New Deal was marked by these principal goals - relief, recovery and reform:

The New Deal had three components: direct relief, economic recovery, and financial reform; these were also called the 'Three Rs'.

Relief was the immediate effort to help the one-third of the population that was hardest hit by the depression. Roosevelt expanded Hoover's Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) work relief program, and added the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Public Works Administration (PWA), and (starting in 1935) the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In 1935 the social security and unemployment insurance programs were added. Separate programs were set up for relief in rural America, such as the Resettlement Administration (RA) and Farm Security Administration (FSA). These work relief programs have been praised by most economists in retrospect.[7]Milton Friedman who after taking a graduate degree in economics was employed by the WPA to analyze family budgets and studied the hardships of families said that, at the time, he and his wife "regarded [these job-creation progams] appropriate responses to the critical situation" but not "the price- and wage-fixing measures of the National Recovery Administration and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration."[8]

Recovery was the effort in numerous programs to restore the economy to normal health. By most economic indicators this was achieved by 1937--except for unemployment, which remained stubbornly high until World War II began.

Reform was based on the assumption that the depression was caused by the inherent instability of the market and that government intervention was necessary to rationalize and stabilize the economy, and to balance the interests of farmers, business and labor. It included the National Recovery Administration (NRA, 1933) (which ended in 1935), regulation of Wall Street (SEC, 1934), the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) farm programs (1933 and 1938), insurance of bank deposits (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 1933) and the Wagner Act encouraging labor unions (1935). Despite urgings by some New Dealers, there was no major anti-trust program. Roosevelt rejected the opporunity to take over banks and railroads. He did not support socialism (in the sense of state ownership of factories), and only one major program, the Tennessee Valley Authority (1933), involved government ownership of the means of production.

To be sure, many New Deal programs were failures. But the failures were quickly discarded and something new was tried. As Roosevelt himself said in his famous 1932 "Bold Persistent Experimentation" Address at Oglethorpe Univeristy in Georgia:

Let us not confuse objectives with methods. Too many so-called leaders of the Nation fail to see the forest because of the trees. Too many of them fail to recognize the vital necessity of planning for definite objectives. True leadership calls for the setting forth of the objectives and the rallying of public opinion in support of these objectives.

Do not confuse objectives with methods. When the Nation becomes substantially united in favor of planning the broad objectives of civilization, then true leadership must unite thought behind definite methods.

The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. The millions who are in want will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach.

I believe President-Elect Obama will heed these famous words uttered by FDR. It is the very expression of what being a progressive and a Democrat should be.

Speaking for me only

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    This is (none / 0) (#1)
    by cal1942 on Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 03:35:18 PM EST
    a whale of an opportunity for America and Obama.

    Opportunities for greatness are rare and fleeting.

    Maybe a left flank should make itself useful by rising up against the strident demands for mediocrity coming from too many pundits and politicians.

    Unfortunately ... (none / 0) (#2)
    by Robot Porter on Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 04:29:02 PM EST
    for all his eloquence, Obama is a piker next to FDR.

    These words by FDR, which you quote above, are as powerful today as the day they were written:

    The country needs, and unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. The millions who are in want will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach.

    I especially like the when and where FDR chooses to use the word "I."  

    Obama would never use a phrase like:

    and unless I mistake its temper

    This reflective use of "I" is virtually absent from any statements by Obama.