Solutions To The Great Depression

It was one of the most detrimental time periods in American history and certain aspects of it still affect us today! This time period known as the Great Depression embodied the peak of unemployment, poverty, and the low point of our United States banking system. One of the solutions that arose from the depression was the New Deal, proposed under Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. The New Deal introduced three main solutions for the great depression. The first solution, dealt with unemployment and this was the Public Works Administration as well the Works Progress Administration. Proceeding to the issue of poverty, which was solved by the enforcement of a minimum wage salary. Lastly, the flaws in our banking system were solved by a corporation
called the FDIC, which stands for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. These answers to the prominent issues of the Great Depression still impact America today as much as it did back in the 1930’s. These impacts are more noticeable in today’s society than one may perceive it. In the end, the aspects of the New Deal have left a legacy that is still known and present in today’s society. With a large percentage of Americans unemployed, it begged the question, what could end the jobless citizens?
In came the New Deal which birthed two programs known as the Public Works Administration and the Works Progress Administration, which both deemed the worthy solutions of this feat. It was claimed that, “the Public Works Administration began what became an almost decade-long process of building major infrastructure projects, which over time helped support economic activity in areas that previously had had no prospect of growth”(Brinkley, 2017). Two years preceding the PWA, “the New Deal created the Works Progress Administration, the most extensive federal work-relief program ever created, which kept an average of two million people employed throughout its eight year history”(Brinkley, 2017). Consequently, it is safe to say that the jobs that were created from both of these administrations helped “jump start” the United states economy ultimately leaving a long lasting impact on America by keeping them employed. The projects from both associations are still present today and are used and occupied by U.S citizens every single day. One popular project created during the New Deal was the Lincoln Tunnel which is considered to be, “one of the busiest tunnels in the world with 120,000 vehicles passing through this tunnel every single day” (Holland). This legacy created by the PWA and the WPA are a major source of transportation for people to this day and in result, impacting the lives of American citizens. Another project that is relevant to today’s society is the creation of the Grand Coulee Dam which, “is the largest dam in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It provides irrigation for over 600,000 acres and electricity for all or parts of eleven states”(Holland) . Seeing as electricity is a main source of power today, it is safe to conclude that this Dam created by the workers in the 1930’s, made an impact on present day residents in
the surrounding states of the Coulee Dam. In Conclusion, it is evident that the public works projects created by the PWA and WPA left a legacy which helps with major parts of transportation as well as an efficient power source. In the early 20th century there was little to no regulations on how much a person gets paid in other words there was no such thing as minimum wage. It was not until the idea of the New deal that minimum wage was even considered on a nationwide scale. Minimum wage was created, “to stabilize the post-depression economy and protect the workers in the labor force. The minimum wage was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and wellbeing of employees” (Staff,Li). It seemed to help protect the workers in the labor force in the nineteen thirties, on the contrary, in today's society it stirs a controversy on whether or not this protection still holds true. In New Jersey the controversy is whether or not to make minimum wage $15 for the reason that many people are not able to afford the expenses of a comfortable New Jersey resident . Arguing against it, Gov. Chris Christie, called this increase, “‘a really radical increase’ that ‘would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unaffordable”’(McGeehan). However, arguing for minimum wage was Ms.Meja stating, “if minimum wage was increased that low-wage workers would have more money to spend, increasing the revenue of retailers and other businesses” (NY times). Not only has this new deal policy stir up controversy but it has also left citizens in states like New Jersey below the poverty line. Brandon McKoy, an analyst, said that there, “were almost one million workers in this state who are unable to afford even halfway-decent living on their wages”(McGeehan). Through this statistic it is safe to say that minimum wage has left a negative impact in certain parts of the United States by creating controversy as well as creating jobs with minimal pay that is not sufficient enough for a comfortable lifestyle. The great depression marked the low point of the U.S banking system, however, the New Deal created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to counteract the flaws in the banking system. Before the New Deal, a citizen's wages were not secured by the bank, meaning that the bank can lose their money at any given time. After the stock market crash in the thirties, it revealed this flaw in the banking system, thus the FDIC was created. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s purpose is to, “preserve and promote public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions for at least $250,000; by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy and the financial system when a bank or thrift institution fails.”(“FDIC). To sum it up, this new deal corporation has left U.S citizens confident in trusting the U.S banking system again and to this day the banking system has helped in keeping the U.S from another great depression; which is arguably one of the largest impacts any new deal ideas had created. The New Deal under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency has left what it seems like an everlasting impact on the United states. This was evident through Public works projects like the Lincoln Tunnel and the Coulee Dam which are utilized by citizens every single day. Furthermore, the impact of minimum wage has left people in financial ruts across america as well as a controversy amongst politicians. Finally, the creation of the FDIC has made the banking system in the United States reliable and trustworthy again and remains to this day a reliable place to store your savings. Whether the legacy that the New Deal created was positive or negative, it created an everlasting impact on America that helped evolve society into what it is today.

Works Cited brinkley, a. (2017). The New Deal, Then and Now | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. [online] Gilderlehrman.org. Available at: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/new-deal/essays/new-deal-then-and-now [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].
Staff, LII. “Minimum Wage.” LII / Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 11 Feb. 2008, www.law.cornell.edu/wex/minimum_wage. McGeehan, Patrick. “Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Bill, Calling Raise to $15 'Really Radical'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Aug. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/08/31/nyregion/christie-vetoes-minimum-wage-increase-for-new-jersey.html. “Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.” FDIC: Who Is the FDIC?, www.fdic.gov/about/learn/symbol/. Holland, Bill. “The Great Depression Top Five Public Works Projects of the New Deal.”Owlcation, Owlcation, 24 Feb. 2017, owlcation.com/humanities/The-Great-Depressions-The-Top-Five-Public-Works-Projects-of-the-New-Deal.