AARP Bulletin seems to be saying that President Obama should look to the ideas of FDR to solve our present economic crisis. They also note that the Eisenhower federal highway building program of the 1950's is also an example. During FDR's term the fed gov't took on a "massive public works projects" building "highways, bridges, airports, sidewalks, art projects" under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). New York's LaGuardia Airport, Chicago's subways system, parks and "rural electrification" were examples of the WPA. (Post office murals are a wonderful example of this approach. Check them out in Fort Lee, North Bergen, Ridgefield Park, and West New York to name just a few). Nick Taylor's American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA is a source. An idea from the Obama transition team is the creation of a Service and Conservation Corps "to mobilize 250,000 young and older Americans to work on renewable energy projects". (That sounds like the Civilian Conservation Corp of the FDR era). Some would challenge this plan as ineffective and some others as not putting enough attention to means of mass transit.
(Source: "A New Deal for Neighborhoods" by Jay Walljasper in the AARP Bulletin for Jan/Feb 2009.)
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