On the 75h anniversary of the Works Progress Administration, we need a new federal jobs plan more than ever. And as presenter Alicia Sidney said at the Justice Center’s news conference, we need one yesterday.
Speakers included NC State University professor David Zonderman, MaryBe McMillan of AFL-CIO NC, and Al Ripley of the Justice Center and the NC NAACP, Sidney, an unemployed mother of two. Video is available from the event.
Zonderman urged policy makers to take advantage of the lessons of history, and resist the urge to slash public spending. While we’ll have to address deficits long-term, cutting federal spending now is “like taking someone who is already in the hospital & cutting their throat” for the economy. It could even lead to a new depression.
See some of the photos from today on our Flickr photostream, including some of former WPA worker Amos Dillahunt. Our tweets from the event also have pithy summaries of certain moments.
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