Long-Range Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal

[Omaha Steve]

https://unionshop.aflcio.org/Long-Range_Public_Investment_P1359C101.cfm

Long-Range Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal
Robert Leighninger tells the incredible story of public investment during the New Deal, when the federal government built schools, housing, bridges, power plants, zoos, farmers' markets, and stadiums and changed the face of America. Although the original goal was to combat the Depression, these infrastructure investments turned out to be some of the most successful anywhere in the world. Eighty years later, many still stand—from Hoover Dam to the San Antonio River Walk and even the 18th Precinct police station in New York City. Leighninger also provides a fine brief history of government-funded infrastructure going back to Washington and Hamilton. Available from The Union Shop Online.™



https://unionshop.aflcio.org/Long-Range_Public_Investment_P1359C101.cfm

$24.95

Long-Range Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal, by Robert D. Leighninger Jr., University of South Carolina Press, 2007, 265 pages, paperback. In "Long-Range Public Investment: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal," author Robert D. Leighninger Jr. argues that public investment during the New Deal era produced the lasting backbone of the U.S. physical and cultural infrastructure still in use today. Leighninger systematically assesses the schools, housing, bridges, roads, power plants, courthouses, hospitals, museums, stadiums, zoos, parks, and other public facilities built during and after the Great Depression. In addition to reviewing the large- and small-scale objectives of such operations as the Public Works Administration, Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration and Tennesee Valley Authority, Leighninger applies the New Deal experience to current public policy issues—arguing that the enduring value of these initiatives is now being forgotten. He also evaluates the impact of public works on stimulating the economy, the role of public jobs in a national employment policy, the means of financing infrastructure and the paradox of viewing public works as "pork." Leighninger concludes that the physical accomplishments of the New Deal have served as the core of the U.S. education, health, recreation, transportation, justice and civic administration facilities for decades. These findings, he contends, should not only remind current generations of their indebtedness to the New Deal programs but also spark renewed debate about the long-range implication of public works versus pork-barrel politics.