An anniversary

When I suggested that Democrats make rebuilding America's infrastructure a major part of their 2008 platform, I was did not realize how close we were to the anniversary of the WPA, established on April 8, 1935; for the reminder, I am grateful to Charles Osgood and CBS Sunday Morning (I can't find a link to today's Almanac segment, which noted the anniversary).

WPA--the Works Progress Administration for you young 'uns--was the great public-works engine of the New Deal. In a few yeas, it build\t hundreds of thousands of miles of roads, thousands of bridges, as well as schools, courthouses and the Grand Coulee Dam. The agency also employed artists to paint murals in public spaces, actors and directors to put on plays, and Woody Guthrie to write and perform songs, including Grand Coulee Dam.

(U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)

Next time you hear a Repub say that we can't solve problems by throwing money at them, just say "WPA."