Welcome toReader Rant Round Table for June 22 - 28, 2014

On June 22, 1944, one of the most important pieces of legislation in the history of the United States was signed into law: The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (P.L. 78-346, 58 Stat. 284m), known informally as the G.I. Bill. It was the last piece of legislation of FDR's "New Deal" and one of its most enduring legacies - it shaped the face of the nation as no other piece of legislation has before or since.


The GI bill was the result of one of the most painful lessons of WWI. After that conflict, veterans were demobilized with a thank you and $60. The Wilson administration had boosted the pay of civilian employees to adjust for inflation, but had not done so for the military. An effort was made to compensate servicemen, but by then Warren G. Harding was President, and he strongly opposed these efforts. Indeed, his position will sound familiar to many today. Initially his position was to "support the measure if it were coupled with a revenue measure" eventually opposing it unless it were a "future pension" plan. He was so opposed, in fact, that he appeared before the Senate to testify against it in 1921, and then vetoed the measure when it reached his desk in 1922. To say that his veto was unpopular would be a gross understatement. After Calvin Coolidge's election a new provision was negotiated (as Coolidge, too, refused to pay veterans anything in "cash"). On May 15, 1924, President Coolidge, too, vetoed a bill granting bonuses to veterans of World War I saying: "patriotism...bought and paid for is not patriotism." Wikepedia A very frustrated Congress finally overrode this veto, something that even his Republican colleagues couldn't stomach.

But the "World War Adjusted Compensation Act" didn't provide any current compensation, only an "adjusted service certificate," a promise of future payment - but not until 1945. With the Depression and widespread unemployment, this slight of veterans was a particularly bitter pill to swallow, and the result was - a march on Washington! The famous "Bonus Army" Wikipedia - "Bonus Army"

Having lived through the Bonus Army march, having responsibility for millions of servicemembers who had served during a second grueling "World War" and having a predisposition to help his fellow Americans, FDR promoted a realistic compensation effort to support those who had served. Yet it still almost didn't come to pass. History and Timeline - VA Sound familiar?

The final version that Roosevelt signed into law contained three major provisions: unemployment compensation, VA home loan guarantees, and tuition reimbursement. Ironically, the unemployment compensation provision - the issue most bitterly fought in Congress - was the least exercised provision. Less than 20 percent of funds set aside for this were ever used.

The other two provisions, however, were lustily embraced by returning veterans (my father amongst them). In the peak year of 1947, Veterans accounted for 49 percent of college admissions. By the time the original GI Bill ended on July 25, 1956, 7.8 million of 16 million World War II Veterans had participated in an education or training program. From 1944 to 1952, VA backed nearly 2.4 million home loans for World War II Veterans.

The impact of these twin benefits profoundly changed the cultural landscape of the nation. History.com Many famous Americans from Johnny Carson to Bob Dole to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist Gene Hackman and Harry Bellefonte were GI Bill-educated. The entire NASA program was made possible because of the thousands of Engineers who were educated under the GI Bill. The GI Bill provided the education for 14 Nobel Prize winners, three Supreme Court justices, three presidents, a dozen senators, two dozen Pulitzer Prize winners. How the GI Bill changed the economyThe United States became one of the best educated workforces in history, and the economy showed it.

A second major impact was the housing boom that was inspired by those millions of GI bill backed loans. The landscape of America was literally transformed. Levittowns and suburbs grew exponentially, necessitating the creation of the Interstate Highway system and the automobiles to get from these new houses to workplaces, refrigerators, stoves, air conditioners and toys to fill them.


And, all of this prosperity led to the Baby Boom, including yours truly.

The above was posted by me for NW Ponderer! Excellent opener, NWP!

I have been looking at some of the ripples and echoes of the GI Bill. Before WWII fewer than 10% of high school graduates went on to college. Now 34% continue on (a figure that would be higher if it weren't so expensive). How many of our parent's parents went to college? Before 1940 fewer than half of Americans owned their own homes. Today 67% of houses are owner-occupied, and that's in a population three times as large. The baby boom of the 50s and 60s echoed in a mini-boom of the 80s and 90s.

The GI Bill made many things possible, and changed expectations. How many of our children expect to go to college? How many think they'll buy their own home? How many appliances are taken for granted? Before WWII most homes didn't have garages, now how many don't? Every time I look, I find another connection.

NWP, I like your thinking about the GI Bill, but have a problem with it being a way to continue the US being militarily adventurous. This is a way to make military service more appealing, and hence build the army needed for our adventures.

The same benefits could be extended to all who participate in the tax system. I believe the net economic effect would be positive and pay for itself over time.

When I get back to my computer, I'll send you a link that makes just that argument. The GI bill was the impetus, but what it demonstrated is that when a governmenr invests in its citizens, amazing things happen.

I look forward to that link. It seems to we are arguing over the peripherals of life and not getting at real discussions that look outside our prejudices and pat answers. That is why I dropped out in 1967 and have never fully dropped back in.

The US and most of the world could use some deep down healing. But I guess healing doesn't happen until one recognizes they are imperfect and what goes on in their mind is not necessarily true or valid.

A deep thought phil