“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

When FDR delivered his second inaugural address in 1937, he saw “one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.” Roosevelt recognized—as we should now—that “we all go up, or else we all go down, as one people.”

The New Deal and the wartime mobilization that followed put millions of Americans back to work. Despite grave mistakes, Roosevelt’s administration sought to vanquish what he described as an “economic epidemic” and “cancers of injustice” rather than surrender to “blind economic forces and blindly selfish men.”

We need equally bold, progressive leadership to conquer the coronavirus and prevent another Great Depression.

That means providing free testing and treatment for all. It means ramping up the production of medical equipment and supplies. It means making sure families have food and housing.

It means freezing debt payments, rent, and utility bills. It means guaranteeing unemployment insurance and paid leave. It means rescuing small businesses and bailing out workers, not just Wall Street.

Surviving this crisis and saving lives dwarf every other priority. But what happens when the pandemic ends?

Rebooting our economy will require massive investments in public infrastructure, education, and employment. If we’re serious about tackling the existential threat that remains, we’ll borrow another page from FDR and craft a recovery plan—call it a Green New Deal.

“If I know aught of the spirit and purpose of our nation, we will not listen to comfort, opportunism, and timidity,” Roosevelt said. “We will carry on.”

Andrew Romanoff