ABSTRACT
A comparison of WPA with Home Relief must differentiate between "income" and "work. In the early days of the depression Work Relief payments were made from private, city, and state funds. Unlike families on Home Relief, whose incomes were determined by need, those on WPA were better or worse off depending on the work assignment of the man. Several WPA families increased their real incomes by finding jobs as superintendents. Usually they received no money for their work, but their apartment was rent-free. A true comparison between Home Relief and WPA would consider not only income but also expenditures. Men on Work Relief had to allow almost c2 monthly for carfare and in extreme cases almost 40 cents daily. Many families complained about the difficulties they were up against because of fluctuations in their income, brought about through reclassifications or loss of work because of inclement weather.
