President Franklin D Roosevelt’s new deal plan was brought upon people who needed help and support; those who were poor and unemployed. The great depression started in 1929 and was a time of pain and sorrow for a lot of people. There was an uneven distribution of wealth, where 60 percent of the population were in poverty, as opposed to the wealthy side, who controlled the poor. There was also unregulated banking, and easy access to credit, which brought upon many problems, such as buying stock on margin. After Hoover, FDR became president and introduced the new deal plan. The new deal started in 1933, and it was an array of acts to provide relief to those who truly needed it. The new deal was helpful in many ways, and increased the quality of life during that time; however, if someone were to look closer, they could see that it did impact some people negatively, maybe not even changing conditions for some.
The impact the new deal had on the economy was debatable. It affected many people, especially those who were struggling with money. Once the new deal started, many people did have relief. It dealt with the banking crisis, it was controversial, and provided recovery and reform. However, as stated in Powells article, the new deal was supported by increasing taxes on people. This put people into more deeper trouble than they may have already been in before. With the taxes increasing, and an increase on payrolls, people had difficulty trying to find a decent job to help their families. Of course, the payroll increase helped people a great deal, but the others were hidden. The result of this was minimal to no job opportunities. This was because of the National Industry Recovery Act. Money was sent carelessly around. Powell stated that the new deal caused money to go south, further away from where it was needed. This was not organized, and it also caused the people in poverty more trouble.
The new deal unintentionally affected women negatively. Schools were closed, and most teachers were put out of work; most teachers were women. Many jobs that were closed affected women, so they became domesticated. There was no way for them to work without going completely out of their way. As We News stated, the government was cost cutting, which resulted in married women being fired or put out of work. And because of the increased payrolls, women had a hard time finding another job, to bring decent pay home. One man working for a family was just enough to bear by, but not ideal. A letter to the presidents by historians in We News read, “We need to rebuild not only concrete and steel bridges but also human bridges, the social connections that create cohesive communities”. The women during this time, along with other minorities, had difficulties to face, such as discrimination. African Americans went to search for economic opportunity, just to be faced with segregation.
The new deal had affected many people positively. However, there are also those people who are not a fan of it. Most economics believed that FDR’s plan wasn’t the right path to take. US News reveals that because of the NRA, people cannot get jobs, which leads to no income. There is also price increases on goods, so those who had no income couldn’t afford the simple things, such as food and other necessities. US News states, “There was expansion, but how come you still had average unemployment of 17 percent from 1933 to 1940?”. There were effects on economic growth as well, people were afraid that their homes and properties would be taken away from them.
Overall, the new deal was greatly needed as opposed to what the people had before (Hoover, Coolidge, etc.). Once the new deal was introduced, many people had relief and the support they needed with many things, financially, socially and mentally. But not everyone had that relief. FDR could have spread out even more and helped the people that did not have access to what others had, to the opportunities others had. Those people were still struggling and no one saw it, the women, colored people, other minorities. The new deal had its pro and its cons. It was a great plan, but did need some improvements here and there.