Question

Read this excerpt from an interview in which a person

makes a counterclaim that New Deal programs like the
Works Progress Administration (WPA) were not
successful.
Bob [Hawley) says if anyone paid him twenty-eight
dollars a week while he was loafin' he'd never go to
work. Said he never made that much in the shop when
he was workin' and he got along fine.... "You give me
twenty-eight dollars a week for the rest of my life, and
see [how] much work I'll do." So there they were.
Which of these quotes from other interviews is the best
rebuttal to this counterclaim?
O "As to the New Deal, I believe that it has been a failure as it has protected the trusts more than the American people. Today, the poor are poorer, and the trusts are richer."
O "They're goin' to give every family [head) an income of at least twenty-eight dollars a week while ſhe's) out of work and a minimum of fifty when [he] goes back to work, no matter what (he) does."
O "When the city hasn't got funds to finance Public Welfare ... and then when the state finds the burden's more than they can swing, you'll see how long it takes the old birds in Washington to realize it's government help, or else ..."
O "One reason people here don't like WPA is because they don't understand.

Answer 1

The best rebuttal to the criticism of the WPA emphasizes the necessity of federal assistance when other public welfare systems fail, justifying New Deal measures as crucial during economic hardships.

Step-by-step explanation:

The strongest rebuttal to the claim that the Works Progress Administration (WPA) discouraged work by offering a weekly income is a quote emphasizing that government assistance was necessary when other levels of public welfare failed. It acknowledges that the economic situation required federal intervention to alleviate widespread unemployment and poverty, thus justifying the New Deal programs, including WPA.

The quote that best serves this rebuttal is, "When the city hasn't got funds to finance Public Welfare ... and then when the state finds the burden's more than they can swing, you'll see how long it takes the old birds in Washington to realize it's government help, or else ..." This quote supports the notion that the New Deal and the WPA were responses to dire economic circumstances and were necessary to prevent an even greater economic collapse.