This is a "A Public Jobs Proposal For Economic Recovery" by Philip Harvey, who does not appear to be a nutter by any stretch of the imagination. He's an academic focusing on public policy who apparently has studied our response to the Great Depression and is very impressed with the Civil Works Administration, which did an amazing amount of work over just four months. Harvey lists that work:
The possibilities are well-illustrated by the accomplishments of the Civil Works Administration (CWA), an emergency job creation program that operated for about four months over the winter of 1933-34 in the United States. Established by President Roosevelt in early November, 1933, the CWA went from a mere proposal to a fully operational program with over 4 million employees in less than two months.
Despite its hurried implementation, the program’s achievements are truly astounding. In Chicago, over 11 thousand CWA workers laid brick pavements in a major street-improvement project. Approximately 60,000 public buildings were repaired or constructed, two thirds of them schools. Almost 2300 miles of sewer lines were laid or repaired. Swamp-drainage projects to fight malaria employed 30,000 CWA workers, and 17,000 unemployed coal miners were employed sealing abandoned coal mines to protect ground-water supplies. Over 3700 playgrounds and 200 public swimming pools were constructed along with countless comfort stations, park benches and water fountains.
The CWA’s white collar projects included education projects within existing schools that provided jobs for 50,000 laid-off teachers. Another 13,000 kept small rural schools open through the winter when normally they would have closed. Thirty-three thousand teachers were employed in adult education classes and in program-operated pre-schools. The adult classes served 800,000 learners and the pre-schools were attended by 60,700 children.
A nationwide child health study was staffed with 23,000 unemployed nurses, and 10,000 more were employed in a variety of other programs. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey sponsored a triangulation and mapping project that employed 15,000 unemployed workers. An aerial mapping project charted hundreds of U.S. cities and employed another 10,000. The National Park Service and the Library of Congress undertook a survey of the nation’s historic buildings that provided work for 1200 architects, draftsmen and photographers. Over 70,000 people were employed in pest-eradication campaigns, and a group of 94 Alaskan Indians were employed restocking the Kodiak Islands with snowshoe rabbits.
The Department of the Treasury sponsored a highly-regarded Public Works of Art Project which provided work for 3000 unemployed visual and performing artists. Actors staged dramatic works in hospitals, schools and libraries. Opera singers toured the Ozark mountain region. Program orchestras gave free concerts in major cities. The program also provided staffing assistance to public libraries and research assistance for scholarly projects.
The Smithsonian Institution employed 1000 program workers at archeological excavations in 5 states. The Department of Commerce employed 11,000 program workers to conduct a census of real property in 60 cities. An Urban Tax Delinquency Survey documented the fiscal condition of 309 cities. And the program’s own Statistical Division employed 35,000 program participants to collect and record data and documentation concerning program operations, labor market conditions, and the nation’s public relief problem.
It is truly an astounding record and, remember it was all done in just four months. The CWA morphed into the WPA.
Harvey argues that creating jobs today is the best way for us to turn the corner. It's simple, he says - "Create jobs for the unemployed directly and immediately in public employment programs that produce useful goods and services for the public’s benefit." Putting people back to work today actually helps the recovery faster than other stimulants. He calls this a job-led recovery rather than today's jobless recovery attempts.
Harvey lists some things that could be done in construction (e.g., the rehabilitation of abandoned or sub-standard housing, building affordable housing) and conservation (e.g., caulking windows and doors in private dwellings). We could improve existing parks and build new ones. Some public spaces need renovation and maintenance.
"The program also could expand and improve the quality of public services in areas such as health care, child care, education, recreation, elder care, and cultural enrichment. Special projects could be undertaken in each of these areas, and existing levels of service delivery could be enhanced. Instead of being forced to cut public services during a recession, government agencies could offer better services than in non-recessionary periods."
Harvey is not alone in pushing a jobs program. TheAlliance of American Manufacturing, a coalition of leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers, is pushing a program that includes a national infrastructure bank, reshaping the tax code, "buy America" provisions for all federal spending; expediting small business loans; and shifting "some education investment to rebuilding our vocational and technical skills."
What do our leaders say? More importantly, what will they do?
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