Measuring the Effect of Defense Employment on Relief Loads

I N T H E L A S T D A Y S of M a y 1940 , President Roosevelt officially in i t ia ted a huge armament program in the U n i t e d States. Expenditures for armaments now form the major par t of the Federal budget, whereas relief costs were the largest single items i n Federal expenditures dur ing the 7 years prior to J u l y 1, 1 9 4 0 . M u c h interest, however, is still centered upon the relief programs, and there has been abundant discussion of what the effect of defense expenditures on relief has been and should be. Some persons have questioned w h y , w i t h vastly increased expenditures for armaments, an expanded A r m y , and labor shortages a pressing problem, the general relief program alone should still be costing the States and localities about $ 1 8 mill ion m o n t h l y . On the other hand , others are concerned t h a t excessive cuts i n relief appropriations may have been made w i t h o u t proper relation to any real decline in the need for relief. This paper is p r i m a r i l y concerned w i t h the possible effects of the defense program on the size of the special assistance programs administered under the Social Security A c t and on the general relief programs in the States. Separate analysis has been made of the available data on old-age assistance, aid to dependent chi ldren, and general relief for the period January 1 9 4 0 N o v e m bor 1 9 4 1 . A i d to the b l i n d is not included i n the analyses because of the small vo lume of i ts case load.