San Antonio College Library

When President Roosevelt took the oath of office in 1933, he was facing a devastated nation. Four years into the Great Depression, 13 million American workers were jobless. What people wanted were jobs, not handouts, and in 1935, after a variety of temporary relief measures, a permanent nationwide jobs program was created--the Works Progress Administration, which would forever change the physical landscape and the social policies of the United States....

An eye-opening journey across various countries delving into their progressive social policies, envisioning their potential adoption in the United States. From worker benefits in Italy to women's leadership roles in Iceland, this documentary explores the transformative impact of policies on education, healthcare, and workforce inclusion, sparking a dialog on improving American society. Through visuals and interviews, Moore highlights the potential...

"After the sweeping environmental legislation passed in the 1970s and 1980s, the 1990s ushered in an era where new legislation and reforms to existing laws were consistently gridlocked. In answer, environmental groups became more specialized and professional, learning how to affect policy change through the courts, states, and federal agencies rather than through grassroots movements. Without a significantly mobilized public and with a generally uncooperative...

Health reform, a popular issue that Bill Clinton and the Democrats skillfully featured in the 1992 campaign, became the spearpoint of the most concerted attack on government in recent American history. One year after it had been introduced to acclaim from almost all quarters, Clinton's compromise plan lay in political wreckage. In this incisive account, a prize-winning Harvard social scientist draws on contemporary documents, media coverage, and...

In this impeccably researched book, Rebecca Blank provides the definitive antidote to the scapegoating, guesswork, and outright misinformation of today's welfare debates. Demonstrating that government aid has been far more effective than most people think, she also explains that even private support for the poor depends extensively on public funds. It takes a nation to fight a problem as pervasive and subtle as modern poverty, and this book argues...