In the last seven years, the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress have combined to plunge the United States into the worst financial crisis since the great depression of the 1930s.  (This is just the beginning.)  The U.S. now has the highest deficit in its history.  As a result of both the incompetence and neglect of the Administration and the Congress, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost; whole industries are disappearing; our financial markets are in turmoil; and foreign countries and other foreign interests now hold a huge part of our national debt.

 

The government is now going to provide most tax payers a one time rebate to “stimulate the economy”.  At best this will finance a spending spree that will run out of money in two and a half hours.  What Americans need are jobs that will allow them to provide for their families even if the jobs are a temporary “fix” while the next Administration(s) and Congress(s) try to put the country back on track.

 

In 1935 during the depression, President Roosevelt created the WPA (Works Progress Administration).  This program was aimed at providing jobs for the millions of Americans that were out of work by working on public service projects.  The WPA has been criticized by some but in the eight years that it lasted, it served a very useful purpose.  The WPA employed 8.5 million Americans and not only employed them but provided many with needed job skills

 

  -The WPA completed 1.4 million individual projects.

  -It built 651,087 miles of highways, roads and streets.

  -It constructed, repaired and improved:

            124,031 bridges

            125,110 town, city, state and federal buildings

            8,192 city, state, and federal parks

            853 airports

 

Even San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge which is an engineering marvel given the tidal currents that had to be addressed in the construction process was a WPA project.  The WPA was discontinued in 1943.  It was no longer necessary because the U.S. was then in World War II and unemployment disappeared.

 

The “solutions” being discussed in Washington are incredibly inept.  The government should be working on steps to stop the loss of jobs.  Free trade needs a serious overhaul.   Work programs that benefit our infrastructure, environment and American workers are needed, not handouts.