The Works Progress Administration, a massive New Deal program launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, created 8 million jobs and funded 250,000 projects over eight years, yet its $11 billion price tag has made it a classic example of a government boondoggle. Critics slammed it as wasteful spending on everything from murals to mosquito control, while supporters argued it saved a nation from despair. Today, the WPA remains a lightning rod in debates over public works and economic stimulus, its legacy as tangled as the Depression-era politics that birthed it.
The short version
From 1935 to 1943, the Works Progress Administration employed millions of Americans on public projects, costing $11 billion. While praised for building infrastructure and providing jobs, it was condemned for inefficiency and perceived make-work, cementing its reputation as a boondoggle.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched the Works Progress Administration in 1935.
- The program employed 8 million people and completed 250,000 projects.
- Total spending reached $11 billion before the program ended in 1943.
- Projects ranged from building bridges and airports to creating art and writing guidebooks.
- Critics labeled the WPA a boondoggle due to allegations of inefficiency and political patronage.
What Is a Boondoggle, and Why Do We Keep Falling for Them?
A boondoggle is any project that wastes both time and money but keeps going anyway, usually because of politics and a refusal to admit failure. It survives on what economists call the sunk-cost fallacy: the more you pour into something, the harder it is to walk away. The most famous example is the Works Progress Administration boondoggle, launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 as part of his New Deal to fight the Great Depression. Over eight years, from May 1935 to June 1943, the WPA spent more than $11 billion, employed over 8 million people, and completed over 250,000 projects. It helped roughly 30 million Americans, about one-quarter of the nation's population. But critics called it a textbook boondoggle, and the word itself became a weapon in political fights.
The term has a softer side, too. In the United States and Canada, "boondoggle" also names the craft of knotting and weaving threads into braided lanyards, a pastime that Boy Scouts once did for fun. That origin, a time-consuming but harmless hobby, is where the modern insult gets its sting: a boondoggle is something that looks busy but produces nothing of real value.
The WPA built or improved roads that could circle the earth twenty-four times. It repaired roughly 80,000 buildings. It taught more than 1.5 million illiterate men and women to read and write. It even built over a million toilets. Projects ranged from constructing stadiums and airports to stuffing birds for museum displays and creating Braille books. The scale was staggering, and so was the controversy.
The WPA: FDR's $11 Billion Gamble
In May 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as the largest and most controversial piece of his New Deal, designed to pull America out of the Great Depression. Over eight years, this massive program spent more than $11 billion, employing over 8 million people and supporting an estimated 30 million, roughly one-quarter of the entire U.S. population at the time.
The numbers are staggering. From May 1935 to June 1943, the WPA completed over 250,000 separate projects. Workers didn't just build highways and stadiums; they exterminated rats, created braille books, constructed over a million toilets, and even preserved the personal narratives of former slaves. The scope was dizzying, and critics quickly began calling it a Works Progress Administration boondoggle, a term that originally meant a braided lanyard made by Boy Scouts, but came to describe any project seen as a waste of time and money.
The WPA's defenders argued that even if some projects seemed wasteful, the real value was in keeping families fed and the economy moving during the darkest years of the Depression.
Criticism and the Birth of the 'Boondoggle' Label
By the late 1930s, the Works Progress Administration boondoggle had become a favorite insult for critics who saw the massive New Deal program as little more than a waste of taxpayer money. Two main accusations kept surfacing: the WPA was hopelessly inefficient, and it was a giant patronage machine for the Democratic Party. Opponents claimed the private sector could do the same work far more cheaply, without any government overhead.
The word "boondoggle" itself was pressed into service to describe these supposedly useless projects completed under federal oversight. It was a perfect weapon, short, catchy, and dismissive. The term originally referred to a braided lanyard made by Boy Scouts, a time-consuming but idle craft, and the insult stuck. Critics used it relentlessly, painting every new WPA bridge, road, or mural as a boondoggle.
But President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had launched the WPA in May 1935, refused to back down. In a moment that captured his stubborn optimism, he fired back at the critics. "If we can lift ourselves out of this depression," he declared, "the word boondoggle will become sacred in people's hearts." He was staking the entire legacy of his New Deal on the bet that future generations would see the WPA not as waste, but as salvation.
Other Famous Boondoggles
The F-35 fighter jet spent nearly 15 years in development as of 2016, lagged four years behind schedule, and exceeded its budget by roughly $170 billion according to the Citizens Against Government Waste's Government Pig Book 2016. That's a staggering sum, but it's hardly alone in the hall of shame. The Concorde supersonic jet, a joint British-French venture, faced constant questions over its costs and operating expenses throughout its service life. And the Sydney Opera House saw its construction cost increase by over 1,400 percent.
Even the Apollo space program and the Hubble Space Telescope's famously flawed initial mirror serve as reminders that ambition and oversight don't always walk hand in hand. According to the original account, after 2014 the United States reportedly spent $173 billion on 73 unnecessary highway projects, though this figure comes from a PIRG report that hasn't been fully verified. Yet not every boondoggle is a total loss. Some, like the Works Progress Administration boondoggle, laid the groundwork for long-term benefits that far outlasted the initial controversy.
Legacy and Lessons
The Works Progress Administration left behind a complicated legacy that still sparks debate today. Between May 1935 and June 1943, this New Deal program spent over $11 billion and employed more than 8 million Americans, supporting roughly 30 million people, about one-quarter of the U.S. population at the time. Critics then and now point to inefficiency and political favoritism, coining the term "boondoggle" to describe projects they saw as wasteful government spending. Yet the tangible results are hard to dismiss: over 250,000 completed projects, including roads that would circle the globe 24 times, bridges, schools, hospitals, airports, and parks that communities still use.
The education initiatives alone taught 1.5 million illiterate men and women to read and write. The WPA also recorded the personal narratives of former slaves, funded theater and art programs, and built more than one million toilets in rural areas lacking sanitation. These weren't just make-work jobs, they created lasting infrastructure and human capital.
The sunk-cost fallacy, the psychological trap of continuing a failing endeavor because of invested time and money, kept many questionable projects alive. Political motivations also played a role: elected officials wanted to show progress in their districts, and contractors benefited from steady government contracts. The same dynamics persist today. According to the Citizens Against Government Waste's Government Pig Book 2016, the F-35 fighter jet program spent nearly 15 years in development, ran four years behind schedule, and exceeded its budget by approximately $170 billion. The Sydney Opera House's construction cost increased by over 1,400 percent from its original estimate. As the story goes, after 2014 the United States reportedly spent $173 billion on 73 unnecessary highway projects, though this specific figure comes from a single advocacy group's report.
Other countries pursuing economic stimulus through massive public works risk repeating similar patterns. When governments rush to create jobs and boost spending, oversight often suffers. The temptation to keep pouring money into a struggling project rather than admitting failure remains strong. Yet the WPA's story isn't simply one of waste. It demonstrated that government action could provide a safety net during crisis, create enduring public assets, and transform lives through education and employment. The lesson isn't to avoid ambitious projects entirely, but to build in accountability, realistic planning, and the courage to cut losses when a true boondoggle emerges. The Works Progress Administration boondoggle label sticks because of genuine flaws, but the program's real legacy is more nuanced, a cautionary tale about good intentions colliding with human nature and politics.
Editor’s note: Some details about specific project costs and outcomes remain unconfirmed and are presented as such based on historical records.
By Staff Writer
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