New York needs our own WPA

So I have been doing some research on my hero FDR and what I think NYC needs most of all right now is our very own version of the WPA.

It lasted for 8 years and hired 8 million people during that time. It employed unskilled workers to carry out public works projects including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing, and housing. Almost every community in the United States had a park, bridge or school constructed by the agency.

Let's start funding a New York Based film industry and get all these actor's employed. Let's get architecture firms to submit competing designs for a new fabulous Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp. Let's clean the Gowanus Canal. Let's feed our children both lunch & breakfast at school for free. Let's hire cooks to feed our school children home cooked meals instead of packaged grossness. Let's rebuild the Kosciusko Bridge and a 2nd Ave Subway line. Or better, let's create 4 new subway lines and update the rest. Let's hire artists to design statues, monuments, & murals to the achievements of the past 70 years. Let's hire writers to document the modern day immigration stories & neighborhood transformation stories.

FDR did like a balanced budget and felt that federal employees had to take a 15% pay cut a well as a similar pension cuts. We do have some inequities in pension rules that could be changed for our police, teachers and city employees, but we also could revamp our bidding systems for public projects so we get the best value for our investments. Also, all new employees worked no more than 30 hours per week.

As for new revenues, I suggest a commuter tax for people driving into the city to work. London created one while I lived there and street traffic lessened as well public transportation ridership increased!

New York has the talent and resources to make something like this work. We are over 8 million strong with 704,000 unemployed as of June 2011 (not sure July numbers yet). Let's hire 100,000 people and make a dent in it!