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Tl;dr — More (and more-educated) workers, more growth.

Tl;dr — More (and more-educated) workers, more growth. | The face conservatives make when they learn that the miraculous post-WWII economic boom was largely a result of simply adding women and blacks into the workforce, and that similarly, the best hopes for securing continued long-term economic growth today lie in expanding civil rights and improving educational and career opportunities for oppressed minority groups including illegal immigrants: | image tagged in memes,surprised pikachu,economy,economics,civil rights,labor | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
134 views 2 upvotes Made by Slobama 4 years ago in Politics_Redux
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3 Comments
1 up, 3y
Almost like more skilled workers helps the economy.
[deleted] M
1 up, 4y,
1 reply
Don't forget about the higher graduated income tax of that era(at least in the 50s and early 60s, what is referred to(ironically) as the 'American Zenith', prior to late 60s and 70s 'stagflation').

Blacks had been in the workforce for a while, and they continued to face much of the discrimination of earlier eras in the 50s. Yeah, I know Brown v. Board of Education and other civil rights landmarks occurred during that decade, but they didn't have as great an immediate impact as they would later on. Racial wage gaps still existed in the 50s. Oh, things were changing, but it was still 'same s*** different day' for most black workers during this time.

The percentage of women who worked was around a third, compared to over half in the 90s (https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/feb/wk3/art03.htm). WWII was one of the reasons that percentage was as even where it was: never before had women been working at such a colossal scale, and this meant greater female economic participation in the economy.

Unlike in the 50s, we're not coming out of the greatest conflict in the history of human civilization; WWII is what set the stage for America to be such an economic superpower post-war. Think about it: the American mainland was never on the front lines, it motored along with barely a scratch as strategic bombing desolated the industrial centers of Europe and East Asia. Additionally, the economic implications of the war provided the final step in American industry's recovery from the Great Depression.

I agree with your points about securing healthy economy today. However, the immediate postwar era is not a great analogy.
1 up, 4y
U.S. Labor force participation women | image tagged in u s labor force participation women | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
Yeah, I agree the impact of these many changes to liberalization of the workforce and educational opportunities around the mid-century wasn’t immediate, nor tells the whole story, but just wanted to make the connection between civil rights and the economy that is often overlooked.
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The face conservatives make when they learn that the miraculous post-WWII economic boom was largely a result of simply adding women and blacks into the workforce, and that similarly, the best hopes for securing continued long-term economic growth today lie in expanding civil rights and improving educational and career opportunities for oppressed minority groups including illegal immigrants: