When the stock market crashed in 1929, millions were thrown out of work. Newly elected President Herbert Hoover often bore the brunt of the blame, but a multitude of factors occurred well before the Oct. 29 crash.
The Great Depression continued into the late 1930s. Elected to the first of four terms in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt made a number of proposals — the New Deal — to put people back to work, including the Works Progress Administration.
Beginning in 1935, the WPA provided jobs for 8.5 million. The goal was one paid job for each family. It wasn’t until 1943 when manufacturing ramped up to meet the military demands of World War II that the Depression ended.
Although rationing to support the war effort was a burden, it being steeped in patriotism most folks buckled.
Then came the post-war halcyon days.
PERHAPS IT’S time for Allen County commissioners to consider a program similar to the WPA.
Free and reduced-price lunches statistics for kids in all three schools districts indicate our area is still plagued by poverty.
To its good fortune of having the Enbridge pipeline and massive pumping station southeast of Humboldt, the county’s assessed valuation has increased by about $35 million. That means substantial reserves have compounded into reserves of about $2.5 million in the general fund.
Having cash on hand permitted commissioners to dedicate, at least in the short term, $100,000 a year to support operations of the beleaguered Bowlus Fine Arts Center. They also created a means for the county, through recommendations from a subordinate board, to provide grants or loans to massage economic development.
Accumulating cash in reserve is helpful, but we shouldn’t let it become a guiding principle. The role of government is to look after the public good, doing collectively what citizens don’t have the wherewithal to do individually.
Which brings our proposal: The county should establish a local version of the WPA with the goal of providing reasonably well-paying jobs for the unemployed or underemployed, who for whatever reason find themselves in such a predicament.
We don’t propose a free ride.
The county has a Public Works Department that looks after roads and bridges, mows weeds, attends to the courthouse and its nearly four square blocks of lawn, as well as many other everyday issues begging attention. Surely Mitch Garner, the department supervisor, could finds waysw to keep a few more hands busy.
Such a works program wouldn’t have to be limited to county projects. Our smaller cities have many needs, which their governing bodies often defer because finances aren’t adequate.
Dispatching a small squad of county employees to help out — cities are just as much a part of the county as rural areas — would be a sure measure of meeting the public good test of governance.
Such short-term employment could be a bridge to a better job for those enrolled, perhaps even with the county.
To ensure those who would qualify are aware of the opportunity, a posting with area non-profits would do the trick, along with a news story to that effect in the Register. Good news travels fast.
Don’t think of it as a handout, rather as a hand up.
— Bob Johnson
