Marshall Plan USA
To end poverty, America needs a
domestic Marshall Plan. The original plan, implemented in 1948, invested billions of dollars to
rebuild European nations devastated in World War II. Some of those nations did
not deserve our country's massive expenditure to rebuild their lands. They had
slaughtered entire communities and brutally killed American soldiers to impose
false racial superiority and gain world domination. Nonetheless, Americans
helped rebuild their shattered nations. This was a truly wise,
generous and remarkable act.
While billions of dollars were sent
to Europe, America’s impoverished continued to struggle within an unjust
society. Soldiers who had served with distinction in segregated units were
denied access to jobs and wealth when they returned from the
war.
A new Marshall Plan would mobilize
resources from all levels of government — federal, state and local — each level
doing what it can to end poverty within its sphere. Some funds will come from
militarized and excessive police budgets.
But government support is not
sufficient. Most of the nation’s wealth is held in corporate and other private
hands. This money was made through expenditures and hard work of all people —
including minorities and the working poor. Such fortunes have skyrocketed, in
part due to favorable taxation geared to increase their wealth.
Just taxation would provide a good
portion of the necessary funds. In addition, the affluent and very rich must
contribute a share of the funds for this historic effort. This possibility has
been affirmed by corporate actions to address certain inequities, especially in
response to protests seeking social justice.
Such a unified plan must do the
following:
• Create decent housing for all, by
restoring or constructing a sufficient supply of homes or units, without
gentrification displacing the poor.
• Achieve equitable school funding,
with quality teachers, spaces, supplies and essential services.
• Provide employment or a universal
basic income sufficient for a decent standard of living.
• Conduct policing, and deliver all
public services, with the same respect for persons and their dignity as in
white neighborhoods. Enact and enforce laws to reduce gun violence.
• Ensure an adequate number of
stores, offering affordable goods and services, regardless of neighborhood
composition or condition.
• Provide health insurance and a
clean environment for all.
• Assure full voting rights, and
finally end segregation in every form.
• Establish diverse federal, state
and local commissions to direct these programs, accountable to the people
living in impoverished conditions.
There
are precedents for this idea
A new Marshall Plan would be a sea
change in our attitudes toward poverty and race. It has precedents in other
social movements in this country. In the 20th century, there were three
especially powerful eras when inequity and poverty were addressed.
During the Progressive Era, from
about 1896 to 1920, progressive taxation, workers' compensation for injury,
antitrust legislation, the right of women to vote and other reforms
created a more equitable way of life.
President Franklin
Roosevelt's New Deal during the Great Depression of the 1930s provided
jobs for millions of the unemployed, built massive public works, established
labor rights, Social Security benefits and more. Taken together, such
reforms built the foundation for a broad middle class in our society.
The Civil Rights movement swept away
legal segregation and required the opening of public and private institutions
to more Americans regardless of race. This movement later came to include the
belief that well-being should never be denied because of any attribute that
sets one person apart from another, including faith or gender.
Such forward-looking policies have
had profound and lasting effects on America. The labor movement brought workers
far better pay and working conditions, the right to organize and governmental
protection. Women’s movements established the right to vote and laws requiring
equal treatment, regardless of gender. The Civil Rights movement continues in
many forms, including opposition to punitive voting restrictions.
Of course, much is undone. Native
Americans, whose lands this nation now occupies, too often live a bare
existence in the shadow of historic genocide and unending neglect.
Nevertheless, a commitment to eliminate poverty and racism is not an impossible
dream.
Some think that ending poverty and
racism will require fundamental changes in our society and economy. Others
believe it cannot be done at all. This piece suggests that poverty can be ended
with great effort, but without sweeping changes to our system. We have argued
that a plan to end poverty and overcome racism has roots in American history
and the current struggles for racial justice.
Time will tell what is necessary to
achieve economic and social justice, but failure to try is no longer tolerable.
Let us raise the stakes by ending racism that for centuries has harmed
people solely because of the color of their skin. Let us raise the
stakes by ending poverty that persists in the richest nation on earth.
This American Plan stands on the
shoulders of generations who have moved us forward. Continuing this effort will
bring us closer to becoming the people we have always imagined.
Authors:
David Feingold organized and took stands for justice in diverse communities and marched with Martin Luther King Jr. Roger Feldman is an internationally recognized economics professor, emeritus, at the University of Minnesota. Rongal Watson is co-founder of Black Lives Matter in Beloit and a professor at Beloit College who teaches courses about racism in government and politics, as well as inequality in health. More than 30 people of diverse age, gender, occupation, and race and ethnicity contributed to this piece. For a complete list, go to: bit.ly/3dKJFej.
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