How Did The New Deal Strengthen Or Weaken The Usa Capitalism

The New Deal Franklin D. Roosevelt took office at a time when the American Nation was facing economic and social disasters. The 1930s were characterized by hunger, homelessness and poverty. Many of the American people were clamoring for change, and F.D Roosevelt set out to enact reforms and offer relief to the people. The largely Democratic Congress rubber stamped most of the ideas that F.D Roosevelt and his close companions had strategized during the campaigns. The close-knit group around the President were referred to as the Brain Trust, and their main theme was to help the forgotten individual at the bottom. This marked the birth of the new deal. With it came new policies that touched on all sectors of the economic and social life. The New Deal promised to rid the country of poverty and pledged to provide well-paying jobs, food and social security.
Nonetheless, even before the concept could be put into practice it faced opposition from within Roosevelt’s own
party and from other quarters. The idea was deemed too unamerican since it gave the government sweeping powers over the lives of the American people. It was criticized for increasing the size and power of government at the expense of individualism and enterprise. This essay will look at the beginnings of the New Deal and thereafter evaluate how this concept has led to the overbearing nature of the government.
Background of the Concept The fundamental ideas behind the New Deal can be traced back to the recommendations contained in the statement written in 1919 by John A. Ryan (United States History). However, the term New Deal was conceived when F.D Roosevelt made his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination. From the onset, Roosevelt denoted that the power of the government should be used as a self-help tool for all societal groups. Roosevelt’s philosophy behind the New Deal become apparent when he spoke at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club (The Heritage Foundation). The programs initiated under the new deal banner were conceived in the Brain Trust meetings held before Roosevelt won the presidency. Also, the new deal borrowed a leaf from the square deal that had been proposed by President Theodore Roosevelt. When Roosevelt won the election, he promised that within 99 days Congress would enact policies and laws that would guarantee unemployment relief, safeguard farmers from loss of their land and spur growth in agriculture and businesses. To accomplish these objectives, the Roosevelt administration set up the enormous Tennessee Valley Authority which grew to become the largest power producing company in America. Nonetheless, opposition from rich businessmen and bankers heightened. They viewed the ideas behind the New Deal as Marxist and were dismayed with the continued use of a budget deficit to fund the projects.
Criticism Against the New Deal Immediately after Roosevelt took office, the first thing that he attacked was individualism and enterprise. Roosevelt enlarged the role the president plays when it comes to controlling economic affairs—all in the name of responding to public demand for a quick resolution to the problems inflicted by the Great Depression (Hardman). The backdrop of the recessionary period provided Roosevelt with the opportunity to amass powers that are reserved for times of international unrest. Furthermore, Roosevelt enjoyed the powers reserved for a president during times of war as a Commander-in- Chief. The combination of these two circumstances enabled policy makers of Roosevelt’s administration to interpret the constitution far from its spirit and what its framers intended (Milkis 341-349). Such overarching powers made the presidency seem like a separate entity that does not lean on public opinion but only draws its power from the constitution. For the purpose of enacting the New Deal policies, Roosevelt’s actions led to the stripping of the powers of Congress as the principal policy maker. In spite of the fact that President Roosevelt was popular, the unwarranted intrusion into the matters of the Supreme Court did not augur well with his peers. Many observed that Roosevelt had gone far beyond the executive power of the presidency. Roosevelt tried to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court in a bid to sway the decisions made so that they would be favorable to the New Deal policies. The Supreme Court had found that the federal government had overstepped when it proposed Agricultural policies that are, as per the constitution, in the purview of the State governments. Noting that he had failed in his attempt to sway the decisions of the Supreme Court, he opted to increase the size of his cabinet and white house staff. Roosevelt initiated the Reorganization Bill of 1938 that strengthened government control of various resources. This big government had misused executive power and usurped the power and functions of other governmental arms under the banner of helping people (Greenstein, 276). Many of the social assistance programs in effect today trace their roots back to the New Deal.
These include programs like the Medicaid, unemployment insurance and the subsidies program. Of all the social assistance initiatives, the subsidies program consumes a huge chunk of government spending. The top-down planning nature of government does not take into consideration the value such policies add to the economy. As such, the government does not consider market efficiency when it enacts all these policies. Moreover, with all these government-backed social assistance programs, it would need additional staff to run the new institutions. Organizations like the Federal Housing Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the Social Security Administration, among others, each in their own way have interfered with the free market economy and reduced efficiency and productivity. This leads to a bigger and wasteful government. The social assistance programs are all designed to serve special interest
groups.
Conclusion
During times of the Great Depression, the American people clamored for a strong and confident leader like Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt had resolved to rely on the New Deal as his key policy initiative that would pull America out of the gutters. Instead, the New Deal resulted in a new kind of government; one which played a bigger and intrusive role in the economy and the life of its people. The policies of the New Deal led to the expansion of presidential power, the usurping of policy making functions from the Congress and the wasteful spending through unnecessary societal nets and subsidies. The modern American government has also shown a ballooning effect as it takes in more roles from other institutions. The preceding disasters like the financial crisis of 2008 and national security concerns have cemented the ideals of the New Deal years after its inceptions.