The Economy Act of 1933 was an Act of Congress that cut the salaries of federal workers – it was able to reduce benefit payments to veterans and intended to reduce the United States' federal deficit. It was crafted in part to show the public that the government itself was responsible and provided for a balanced budget and cutting government jobs and aid to veterans. Franklin D. Roosevelt had campaigned for the Presidency on a pledge to balance the federal budget – right after his inauguration, he submitted legislation to Congress which would cut millions from the federal budget by eliminating government agencies, reducing the pay of civilian and military federal workers, and slashing veterans' benefits in half. Congress faced the new act with harsh opposition. Outraged veterans led numerous riots, pushing Congress to have to flee the city. To overcome opposition, Roosevelt delivered a special message to Congress: he blamed the Hoover administration's deficit budgets for the presence of economic stagnation and for the banking collapse – "For three long years, the federal government has been on the road toward bankruptcy."
http://www.encyclopedia.com/economics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/economy-act-1933
This is a very interesting post. There were many legislation and Acts passed during the Roosevelt administration, and here you took a very close look at one of them. In here, it seems that this would focus on the relief part of the new deal- he wanted to help relieve and aid veterans. It is interesting to see that process that you wrote about such as the struggles and obstacles this bill faced before being passed. Overall, it seemed it came with a double-edged sword because although it benefitted veterans, I'm sure the federal workers weren't too happy with this.
ReplyDeleteNice Analysis! If you want to read more about the political maneuvering between Roosevelt and Hoover, especially the struggle to shift blame for the crisis from one to the other, I recommend reading chapter four of Freedom from Fear.
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