Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. The New Deal in Reverse (Steve Fraser)From TomDispatch, a piece by Steve Fraser criticizin' Obama's populist droppin' of g's and his inadequate jobs "surge." Here's Tom E.'s intro to the piece:From TomDispatch today, a canny and striking comparison between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama that shows how, by the end of their first year in office, they were heading in mirror-opposite directions: Steve Fraser, The New Deal in Reverse, How the Obama Administration Ended Up Where Franklin D. Roosevelt Began. (An accompanying TomDispatch audio interview discussing why Obama has ignored the jobs model Roosevelt pioneered.) Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office with far less expected of him than Barack Obama. He was, on arrival, wedded to the traditional idea of a balanced budget, like his predecessor Herbert Hoover, determined not to alienate high finance or corporate power, and eager to create jobs and restart the Great Depression economic engines of the country indirectly through the business community. That was Roosevelt, the New Deal president, on day one; that, as TomDispatch regular and New Deal historian Steve Fraser indicates, is Barack Obama at the end of year one. Their rhetoric was similar. How did they end up in such different places, going in such different directions as their first year in office ended? Why did one president take an historic and extraordinary path and the other head into the quagmire? This is a remarkable tale which Steve Fraser tells in his usual striking fashion, examining three key steps Roosevelt took: separating commercial and investment banking (while Obama simply shored up Wall Street), creating the Tennesee Valley Administration which competed successfully with private utility companies (while Obama's public health option went down the tubes and the insurance companies emerged triumphant), and creating millions of jobs through direct government intervention (while Obama's jobs plan relies on funneling tax relief to business). The upshot was one historic presidency and another heading into the swamps of disappointment -- and a tale of two presidencies not to be forgotten. As ever, Fraser offers a stimulating take on today's headlines in the long view of history. Read The New Deal in Reverse. Labels: Barack Obama, FDR, jobs, New Deal, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). |
