, Columnist
FDR’s New Deal Worked. We Need Another One.
Claims that the programs adopted in the 1930s lengthened the Great Depression don’t hold up.
Why not?
Photographer: Keystone Features/Hulton ArchiveThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. is now either in or on the verge of an economic depression. In February, more than 80% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 54 had a job; in April, that number was less than 70%, and it probably will fall even more.
And there are plenty of reasons to believe that this situation will not quickly resolve itself once the threat of the coronavirus pandemic has passed. This will be the worst economic deprivation that Americans have suffered since the 1930s. Already, the number of mothers with young children who say their families can’t afford enough food has risen almost sevenfold.