New Deal Failure

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The “New Deal” was Roosevelt’s establishment of domestic programs between 1933 and 1938 in the United States (Weisbrod 34). This “New Deal” was the creation of government-subsidized programs established in order to kickstart the American economy out of the Great Depression. These programs were primarily centered around three goals: Relief, Recovery, and Reform (Weisbrod 36). A relief program in order to help the unemployed and poor, a recovery program to redirect American economic functions towards sustainability, and lastly, reformation of previous legislation, in order to prevent reoccurring recession (Weisbrod 36). As a result of this plan, human welfare was established in order to give aid through governmental sponsorship; it is an example …show more content…

Deregulation, growing criticism of the welfare state, and an ideological shift to reducing federal aid to impoverished people in the 1980s and 1990s culminated in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. In a New York Times article, the director of the committee stated, "Today, the ranks of the poor are again swelling ... These and other statistics have led careless observers to conclude that the war on poverty failed. No, it has achieved many good results. Society has failed. It tired of the war too soon, gave it inadequate resources and did not open up new fronts as required. Large-scale homelessness, an explosion of teen-age pregnancies and single-parent households, rampant illiteracy, drugs and crime - these have been both the results of and causes of persistent poverty. While it is thus inappropriate to celebrate an anniversary of the war on poverty, it is important to point up some of the big gains ... Did every program of the 60 's work? Was every dollar used to its maximum potential? Should every Great Society program be reinstated or increased? Of course not ... First, we cannot afford not to resume the war. One way or another, the problem will remain expensive. Somehow, we will provide for the survival needs of the poorest: welfare, food stamps, beds and roofs for the homeless, Medicaid. The fewer poor there are, the fewer the relief problems. Getting people out of poverty is the most cost-effective public