President Elect Obama is vowing to create 2.5 million jobs through a program much like the Works Progress Administration (WPA) that was created during the Great Depression.
    During the Great Depression when unemployment was at it’s worst, the WPA was created as a part of the “New Deal”. This program created by FDR was a program launched to create millions of jobs for those not working. These are not permanent jobs. The jobs that would be created are for the country’s infrastructure such as roads, public works, parks, etc. These jobs are created as a bridge for those unemployed until the economy gets better. This did help the economy at the same time it helped the country move into a positive direction. The WPA days came to an end as the U.S. was pulled into World War II.
    Although this sounds like a good program, there are consequences. This program is expected to cost some in the neighborhood of 500-700 Billion. (Bloomberg Article) This is another huge bill to the taxpayers as well as an addition to our already bloated government balance sheet. At a time when the government is bailing out every ailing industry, can we afford another program this big?  Our debt is growing so large so fast that the possibility of us escaping it is growing less likely.
    Additional departments and oversight committees will need to be created in order to successfully manage the operation of this new “WPA”, meaning larger and more government.
    Wasteful spending is a huge risk with this program. Over priced projects that are not properly managed and jobs that are substandard because of lack of quality workers.
Discussion: Does this project sound like a good idea?
Obama would be wise not to follow to many of FDR’s policies, as, you know, they made the Great Depression worse, not better.
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/FDR-s-Policies-Prolonged-Depression-5409.aspx
Left by Nicholas on December 8th, 2008