In 1933, the year I was born, this country was in the midst of the Great Depression, a world-wide condition which was the worst such economic event during the 20th century. Its effects started to appear in the US in 1928, culminating in the Crash of 1929 and lasting until the beginning of World War II in 1940. Under the leadership of a strong president, the country slowly pulled itself together.
One of the more effective programs developed was the WPA – the Works Project Administration – which provided employment for citizens as diverse as artists, writers, construction workers and engineers. The program’s most active period ran from 1935 through 1938 and provided jobs for about 3 million people.
It’s cost was about 14 billion dollars ( about 6.7% of GDP) and brought us an updated and thoughtful infrastructure of government buildings, artwork and writings. It also trained millions of workers in a hundred skills which were employed during the war and later in industry and commerce.