National Economic Policy Then and Now Prepared for THIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Barry Bluestone May 15, 2001

The ebb and flow of history …. From boom to bust and back again From community to globalism From solidarity to individualism

The Roaring 20’s Calvin Coolidge, Warren Harding, Herbert Hoover Post WW I Economic Boom Flappers, Speakeasies, Al Capone, Eliot Ness An era of Great Generals (General Motors, General Electric) Stock Market Boom Celebration of American Capitalism and Laissez- Faire The Great Stock Market Crash “Prosperity is just around the corner”

The Great Depression of the 1930s Franklin Delano Roosevelt (New Deal) Public Investment/Fiscal Stimulus (NRA, WPA, AAA, CCC, TVA) Social Safety Net (Social Security, FLSA, Wagner Act, UIB, ADC, Minimum Wage) Government Regulation (SEC, FTC, FDIC, FCC, CAA) “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”

1940’s & World War II FDR & Harry Truman Conversion to Military Production Full Employment Wage & Price Controls Rationing WW II blows the Great Depression Away “A day that shall live in infamy”

The 1950s Dwight David Eisenhower Military Industrial Complex Interstate Highway System Veterans’ Programs National Housing Initiative Sputnik Suburbs and the Rise of the West “Beware the military-industrial complex”

The 1960s - The Glory Days John F. Kennedy & Lyndon Johnson 1961 Fiscal Stimulus Tax Cut The Civil Rights Revolution The War on Poverty The Great Society Programs (Housing, Workforce Training, Education) Missile Race & Moon Mission Viet Nam “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”

The 1970s - Troubled Times Richard Nixon, Gerry Ford, Jimmy Carter OPEC and the Energy Crisis Declining Productivity; Sluggish Growth, Rising Unemployment Wage Declines, Stagnant Family Incomes Growing Inequality “America is facing an economic malaise”

The 1980s Ronald Reagan and George Bush I Supply Side Economics Massive Tax Cut/Massive DOD Buildup Growing Federal Deficits Deregulation Privatization Rising Inequality “Get the government off the backs of the people”

The 1990s Bill Clinton Deficit Reduction The Rise of Alan Greenspan & the FED Welfare Reform/Unravel Social Safety Net The New Economy Rapid Growth, Falling Unemployment, Stable Prices “The era of Big Government is over”

2000 & the New Millenium George Bush II Massive Tax Cut Compassionate Conservatism - Sentiment with little cash Shrinking Government End of the 1990s boom? “Give back the people’s money”

Globalization & Technology The Good News Information Technology comes of age -- boosts productivity, growth, and creates jobs Globalization of economy brings cheaper, better goods to America

Globalization & Technology The Bad News Information Technology comes of age -- stock market boom & bust; rise & fall of the dot.coms. Celebration of individualism Globalization of economy brings intense international competition threatening jobs and the environment -- A “race to the bottom” with rising inequality

Place-based vs. People-based Development New Global Economy and New Information Technology leads to intensely personal world, not social nor geographical centered development Global Competition tends to destroy social safety net Individual success; little solidarity

Technology & Community Entertainment as Metaphor Square Dance (Whole Town) Vaudeville (Local Community) Cinema (Neighborhood) TV (Family) Computer/Walkman (Individual) Now everyone gets what they want (if they can afford it), but little sense of community or place.

Global Competition Private Sector –Place irrelevant - Boeing moves to Chicago; Chrysler moves to Germany –The end of community loyalty Public Sector –Privatize social security –Privatize schools –Reduced federal role –The end of the social solidarity

Third Sector Imperatives Uphold community loyalty Uphold social solidarity Provide resources for community development Social Glue in an Age of Individualism Struggle for the common good

Third Sector Programs Affordable Housing Living Wage Campaigns Containing Urban Sprawl Community day care Preserve Social Safety Net Preserve the natural environment International social solidarity