To GOP Governors: Don't Give Your Constituents a Raw Deal

As part of the New Deal, under the Works Progress Administration, a controversial program known as the Federal Writers Project was created. At its height the Federal Writers Project employed 6,686 writers. Many considered this to be a waste of federal funds desperately needed in other areas of the economy. Out of this project, though, a great wealth of American folklore was captured in writing for the first time and many great writers of the twentieth century found their own voice. More importantly, the WPA and its programs such as the Federal Writers Project kept hundreds of thousands of Americans employed during a time where steady employment was a desperate need for many Americans.

Over the weekend at the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington, a handful of GOP governors continued to assert their intention to fight over stimulus spending slated to be given to their state and are claiming they will not accept many provisions of the bill. I cannot help, but think about the WPA and Federal Writers Project when I hear such claims. For I believe you can put much of thinking over the stimulus plan into two schools of thought. The first supported mostly by Democrats, progressives and some moderate Republicans such as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger believe the stimulus plan will work by giving relief to many Americans, build infrastructure and jump start our economy. The other camps comprised mostly of conservative Republicans represented by the rising star Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana believe that the stimulus plan will not work, is wasteful and places too cumbersome of a burden on state and local governments to comply with federal law.

The most optimistic estimates put us on the path of recovery early next year. Whether it is the stimulus, monetary policy or economic self-correction it appears more than likely things will continue to get worse over the next few months or year before they get better. During this coming year state budgets will continue to plummet into the red like we have seen recently in California and Kansas in order to keep up with raising unemployment and Americans even in the most insulated states will continue to lose their jobs. Suppose the second camp is right and the stimulus will not fix the economy. The stimulus though will certainly put hundreds of thousand people, if not more, to work almost immediately in order to build infrastructure and research green technology. In addition bill provisions will keep unemployment and other federally mandated, state funded services going.

Regardless of which camp you or your governor fall under, the need for relief and at least interim employment measures is clear. New Deal projects such as the WPA are believed by many to have helped pull the United States out of the Great Depression. Others believe these programs had no real effect on our economy as a whole and World War II alone was responsible for pulling us out of the Depression. Either way it is indisputable that New Deal programs provided relief to many who needed it and allowed countless families to survive the Depression.

GOP governors need to learn the lessons of the New Deal. The stimulus package may have flaws and perhaps the view that it will not work is correct. As the economy worsens and states hemorrhage money, political ideology must be couched and action must be taken. Regardless if GOP governors take issue with the bill, they have the responsibility to accept the funds on behalf of all the recently unemployed and struggling citizens of their state. Let your political and ideological concerns lead you to ensure this money is spent effectively in your states, but do not let politics stand between economic relief (and perhaps recovery) and your constituents.