eMonticello -> RE: CHS - Did allies get screwed in the air ? (10/19/2005 6:35:00 AM)
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ORIGINAL: rtrapasso Until WW2 (i.e. around 1939), most production was in the hands of small business - it was something like 75% of manufacturing. After WW2 started going, the Roosevelt admin (which was Democratic) started awarding contracts in such a way that resulted in Big Business scarfing up the contracts in such a way that reversed the situation - i.e. Big Business ended up with about 75% of manufacturing. It has slowly slipped from this number. It is hard to see how the Roosevelt admin could have done otherwise - they just went with the big players because (a) small business could not have ramped up to do the job fast enough; and (b) it was easier to negotiate with 100 or so big companies than 10000 small ones. Actually, Roosevelt had nothing to do with handing the military contracts to large businesses. The Army had made that decision and they were using the 1936 Industry Survey to select primary contractors (most of which were, surprise, surprise, large businesses). Donald Nelson, the Chairman of the War Production Board, attempted to expand the use of small business in the procurement contracts, but, since he handed procurement to the military instead of keeping it within his organization, it fell upon deaf ears. Big business did use small manufacturers as sub-contractors when they had too much work themselves, but as soon as contracts were being cancelled as early as 1943, they would bring the work in house and cut the small business loose. Of course, they also complained to the Army that these small businesses should not be allowed to produce goods for the civilian market until the large businesses were free to compete.
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