(ThyBlackMan.com) There is no poor, working- or middle-class adult in America whose life has not been touched by either Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal or Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. Roosevelt’s New Deal (1930s) primarily focused on the economic recovery and the protection of workers from the Great Depression. While the New Deal failed to address institutionalized discrimination, Johnson’s Great Society (1960s) aimed to eradicate social and racial inequities and poverty and expand healthcare and education.
These progressive programs, while enacted during separate periods of time, are related because they represent the need for significant government intervention to be established and maintained on behalf of vulnerable people. These safety net programs served as a means of equity in action where we recognize and acknowledge that people of various backgrounds throughout society do not all start from the same place of wealth. Therefore, fairness and having a level playing field calls for society to make adjustments to address the imbalances.
The Roosevelt administration gave us Social Security, worker’s compensation, and unemployment insurance. Johnson’s fight against poverty included Medicare, Medicaid, the food stamp program, and Head Start. For decades, these progressive initiatives by Democratic administrations profoundly impacted the lives of millions of Americans. However, they also received political wrath from conservatives who took issue with the federal government’s expanded role, regulations, and increased spending.
A signature program that is now in the budget crosshairs is Jobs Corps. Congress created the Jobs Corps program through the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. It was one of the landmark bills of the Johnson administration’s “War on Poverty.” “For generations, Job Corps has provided life-changing education and hands-on training to young people looking for a pathway to a better future,” said Donna Hay, president and CEO of the National Jobs Corps Association (NJCA).
These students are often overcoming significant personal and economic challenges, and Job Corps gives them the ability to gain the skills they need to build meaningful careers. Throughout its existence, Jobs Corps has provided education to millions of young people coming from challenging backgrounds who struggle with traditional schooling while living in poverty, foster care, experiencing homelessness, or having contact with the criminal justice system. Jobs Corps has long served as a cornerstone for disadvantaged young people by providing free education, vocational training, housing, meals, healthcare, and a lifeline of support for those aged 16 to 24 to achieve their career goals. Nearly half of all Job Corps participants are Black, mostly from low-income families.
With the Trump administration now in power, conservatives are finally getting their long-awaited wish to strategically dismantle significant pieces of the New Deal and Great Society despite the immense toll on human lives. The Job Corps program is now in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) budget crosshairs. The U.S. Department of Labor has recently announced a “pause” of operations at an estimated 100 contractor-operated Job Corps Centers nationwide by June 30. The department cited the high costs, a low graduation rate of around 38%, and reports of violence and sexual assaults as the reasons for pausing operations. While a federal judge in New York has granted a motion to temporarily block the shutting down of the vocational schools, the damage is partly done. With the announcement comes the chaos, confusion, and uncertainty surrounding the largest job training program in the U.S. for low-income youth. The immediate consequences have left many youths at risk of being homeless or returning to unstable or unsafe environments.
As Americans, we all must realize that we have become a nation living under a fascist regime and authoritarian rule. It is a hard reality that is undeniably true. In the four months since Donald Trump assumed power, we no longer have a president who abides by the U.S. Constitution he was sworn to uphold and defend. Nor do we have a president who respects the elements of democracy with its system of checks and balances. Instead, we have a dictator who believes in absolute authority while suppressing the rights and needs of marginalized communities and individuals to carry out a hardline political agenda. The administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” does not include funding for Jobs Corps in its proposed budget for 2026, which amounts to the elimination of the program.
How does living under a fascist regime impact all young people of color and their futures, not just those who are Job Corps students? The elimination of Jobs Corps may have been a long-held desire of hardcore conservatives who are unwilling to invest in the people and refuse to recognize the long-term benefits of equipping students of all backgrounds with the academic and professional skills they need. The difference between current and past administrations boils down to dictatorial rule versus a true presidency. The ideological debate in the past always came down to conservatives promoting a smaller and limited role in our government while seeking fiscal responsibility.
The fiscal responsibility argument loses its credibility with the administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” adding an estimated $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis. Like many of the job cuts involving federal government workers, the cuts were not about cutting financial waste or abuse. It was about eliminating individuals who were not likely to be loyal to the dictator and his agenda. An agenda that includes suppressing those who are not white, wealthy, and male.
Written by David W. Marshall
Official website; https://davidwmarshallauthor.com/
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