There are conspicuous challenges for today's economy but, in some ways, we've actually been here before! As we stressed last week, it helps to take a historical perspective in order to understand the current state of the economy and the challenges that we collectively face. In the video below, Professor Kochan examines a series of historical events, including rising wealth inequality in the 1920s and the Great Depression, that remain highly relevant today.
Video: The New Deal at Work
> Download from iTunes U (MP4 - 20MB)
> Download from Internet Archive (MP4 - 20MB)
Attentiveness Question 1
The video described someone who pressed for legislation to provide unemployment insurance, a national minimum wage, and a program for retirement insurance and disability insurance.
Who was this person?
Explanation
Frances Perkins was brought on as Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor and pressed hard for legislation to provide unemployment insurance, a national minimum wage, and a program of retirement insurance and disability insurance.
Attentiveness Question 2
Explanation
The fourth part of the New Deal described in the video was the Nation Labor Relations Act, not the Capital Gains Taxation.
Attentiveness Question 3
Explanation
The National Labor Relations Act promised workers the right to organize into unions. Maternity leave was not federally secured for women in the workforce by the New Deal. Unemployment Insurance provided temporary assistance for workers who become unemployed, and the Fair Labor Standards Act established a minimum wage.