The_Acts_of_the_First_Hundred_Day's_of_Franklin_Delano_Roosevelt's_Presidency_and_How_Similar_Acts_Could_Be_Used_in_the_Current_Recession

It is no secret that the American economy has had its ups and downs. One of the most famous downs was the Great Depression beginning in 1929 and lasting through the early 1940s. Out of the Great Depression arose many acts enlisted by Congress to aid the economy. The American economy is currently in a recession that has been called the second depression by some. Could any of the acts of Great Depression be reworked to address todays issues. Times may not be as hard as they were during the Great Depression but many American have lost their jobs and homes in this recession. Is there anything the government can do to stop this landslide before it gets any worse' When Franklin D. Roosevelt(FDR) entered the presidency in 1933 he immediately called congress into a special secession and began to present recovery and reform measures. This began what is now referred to as the “Hundred Days” it included the first 99 days of Roosevelt's presidency. During these first hundred days congress passed many acts including the Emergency Banking Act, the Economy Act, the Civilian Conservation Corps Act, Beer- Wine Revenue Act, Federal Emergency Relief Act, the Agriculture Adjustment Act, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, and the Federal Securities Act. Could any of these acts be revised and make a positive impact on todays economy “As soon s FDR took office in 1933 he took sweeping action to turn around the plummeting economy.”(1) In attempt to halt bank closures he declared a bank holiday from March 6th to March 9th 1933, which was called the Emergency Banking Act. He did this in order to lessen the staggering amount of runs on the banks. The act sought to reinstall in the banking system and regain stability. The runs on the banks only compounded problem that the banks were having after the stock market crash, the American people thought their money was no longer safe in the banks and went to the bank to pull all their money. Today, as we know today banks often don’t have very much of their capital physically at the bank. Most had been lent out to other bank customers. The same held true in 1933 so when hundreds of people ran to the bank to take all their money out the banks didn’t have to money to give them. This caused the banks to give away all the money they had and be forced to go out of business. As far as this act being reworked for the current recession it’s not necessary because the banks weren’t facing that problem. On October 3rd 2008 congress however did pass the $700 billion bank bailout bill. The US treasury lent $115 billion to banks by buying preferred stock to stop the many of the major US banks from going out of business The Economy Act was enacted on March 20, 1933, it cut $400 million from federal payments to veterans and $100 million from the payroll of federal employees. The measure reflected the fiscal conservatism of the early New Deal. Today the government is in extreme deficit spending. “Thanks to a 6.6% decline in revenues due to recession, a spending increase of some $500 billion or 19%, and assorted federal bailouts, the U.S. deficit for fiscal 2009 (ending September 30) will nearly triple to $1.19 trillion. That's 8.3% of GDP, which CBO says "will most likely shatter the previous post-World War II record high of 6. percent posted in 1983.”2 The current government has already enacted many reforms downsizing government wedges but it clearly isn’t working this time around The Civilian Conservation Corps is often remembered as on of the most effective programs of the New Deal. It gave jobs to young, unmarried, unemployed men. These men were shipped all over the country to do many jobs including planting over 3 million trees in the dust bowl area.In total they were responsible for “more than 3,470 fire towers erected; 97,000 miles of fire roads built; 4,235,000 man-days devoted to fighting fires; 7,153,000 man days expended on protecting the natural habitats of wildlife; 83 camps in 15 Western states assigned 45 projects of that nature; 46 camps assigned to work under the direction of the U.S. Bureau of Agriculture Engineering; more than 84,400,000 acres of good agricultural land receive manmade drainage systems; 1,240,000 man-days of emergency work completed during floods of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys; disease and insect control; forest improvement — timber stand inventories, surveying, and reforestation; forest recreation development — campgrounds built, complete with picnic shelters, swimming pools, fireplaces, and restrooms.”3 The conservation corps was soon after expanded to allow veterans regardless of age and marriage status to enlist. Overall the conservation corps gave jobs to over a million Americans and left an amazing mark on the American landscape. The Federal Emergency Relief Act passed in May, 1933, was the first step in the program of relief at the beginning of the New Deal. It created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration which was allocated an initial fund of $500,000,000 to help those in need. Over the next two years a total of $3,000,000,000 was distributed.4 Most of this money went to Home Relief Bureaus and Departments of Welfare for Poor Relief. The federal emergency relief organization focused on creating and giving unemployed people real jobs not just makeshift jobs. The unemployment rate in the US is at 9% as of October 20105 During the Great Depression the highest calculated unemployment rate was just above 24%. Americans could use more open jobs today. However a program of this magnitude in not necessary in this recession, but one to a smaller degree probably would really help. On march 22,1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Beer-Wine Revenue Act. The Act levied a federal tax on all alcoholic beverages to raise revenue for the federal government and gave individual states the option to further regulate the sale and distribution of beer and wine. In one of his first addresses to Congress as president, FDR announced his intention to modify the Volstead Act with the Beer and Wine Revenue Act. This act was later followed by the 21st amendment which lifted the ban on the sell of alcohol. Recently California purposed a statewide legalization of marijuana it was listed as California Proposition 19 but was also known as Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Act if the proposition would have passed it would have allowed counties to levy taxes on marijuana. Supporters of the proposition argued that it would have helped with California's budget crises. This Proposition however did not pass in the November elections. The intent of the Agriculture Adjustment Act (AAA) was to restore the buying power of American farmers to pre-World War I levels. “The money to pay the farmers for cutting back production by about 30 percent was raised by a tax on companies that bought farm products and processed them into food and clothing”6. The AAA evened the balance of supply and demand for the farm commodities so that the prices would support a decent buying power for farmers. AAA controlled the supply of wheat, rice, corn, cotton, peanuts, milk, and tobacco, by offering payments to farmers in return for farmers not planting those crops. The AAA also became involved in assisting farmers ruined by the Dust Bowl in 1934. In 1936 the Supreme Court declared the AAA Unconstitutional. Because it was illegal to levy a tax on one group, the processors, in order to pay another group, the farmers. Today the “U.S. Department of Agriculture distributes between $10 billion and $30 billion in cash subsidies to farmers and owners of farmland each year. More than 90 percent of agriculture subsidies go to farmers of five crops—wheat, corn, soybeans, rice, and cotton. More than 800,000 farmers and landowners receive subsidies, but the payments are heavily tilted toward the largest producers. In addition to routine cash subsidies, the USDA provides subsidized crop insurance, marketing support, and other services to farm businesses. The USDA also performs extensive agricultural research and collects statistical data for the industry. These indirect subsidies and services cost taxpayers about $5 billion each year, putting total farm support at between $15 billion and $35 billion annually.”7 As you can see Farmers are already being extensively helped by the current government. In the 1930s the Tennessee Valley was in bad shape in 1933. Much of the land had been farmed too hard for too long, eroding and depleting the soil. Crop yields had fallen along with farm incomes.. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) developed fertilizers, taught farmers how to improve crop yields, and helped replant forests, control forest fires, and improve habitat for wildlife and fish8. The most dramatic change in Valley life came from the electricity generated by TVA dams. Electric lights and modern appliances made life easier and farms more productive. Electricity also drew industries into the region, providing desperately needed jobs. TVA built dams to harness the region’s rivers. The dams controlled floods, improved navigation, and generated electricity. The TVA still exists today. they provide whole sale electric power. Their production costs are among the nations third lowest. Often referred to as the "truth in securities" law, the Securities Act of 1933 require that investors receive financial and other significant information concerning securities being offered for public sale; and prohibit deceit, misrepresentations, and other fraud in the sale of securities. The primary means of accomplishing these goals is the disclosure of important financial information through the registration of securities. This information enables investors, not the government, to make informed judgments about whether to buy a company's securities. While the SEC requires that the information provided be accurate, it does not guarantee it. Investors who purchase securities and suffer losses have important recovery rights if they can prove that there was incomplete or inaccurate disclosure of important information.9 This Act had led the way for many other acts to date including, Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Trust Indenture Act of 1939, Investment Company Act of 1940, Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 all of which are still in action today. Franklin D Roosevelt provided hope for the American People in a time when the outlook as bleat at best. Thanks to his New Deal programs many Americans found jobs and were once again able to make a life for their families. Looking back at the Great Depression makes todays Recession look like a piece of cake. As a nation we hope to never find ourselves in that situation again, but if we don’t learn lessons of conservation it will more than likely happen again. The New Deal started many agencies like the Social Security Administration that we take for granted. and though we cant always look to the Past for solutions for todays problems we can look to it to learn valuable lessons for the future. Bib Bibliography “The New Deal” http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1851.html accessed 11/20/10 “The Economy Act of 1933” http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/egd_01/egd_01_00154.html accessed 11/20/10 “Civilian Conservation Corps” http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1586.html accessed on 11/21/10 “Essay: The Federal Emergency Relief Administration” http://content.lib.washington.edu/feraweb/essay.html accessed 11/21/10 “Unemployment Rate” http://www.google.com/publicdata'ds=usunemployment&met=unemployment_rate&tdim=true&dl=en&hl=en&q=current+rate+of+unemployment accessed 11/20/10 “Agriculture Adjustment Act” http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1639.html accessed 11/21/10 “Agricultural Subsidies” http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/agriculture/subsidies accessed 11/21/10 “Tennessee Valley Authority” www.tva.org “Securities Act of 1933” www.sec.gov/about/laws.shtml