World War Two made unemployment virtually zero, so it was discontinued, and that phase of America lasted a while, so it would fall on someone decades later with lots of other issues to tackle as well.

Added: I can't speak for everything, but I do know that things like NET and UBI were being talked about around the early 70s, so there was that concern about how to help people who couldn't provide enough. Maybe because much of FDR's social nets had fallen away outside of social security. And then about 1973, production started accelerating away from wage earnings, and it never got better.

You gave a great answer. It sure would be nice to cut back on paying our mercenary military and have them instead sign up for some domestic public works program instead. Better bang for the welfare buck, and more importantly, better for the country.

When the great recession hit in 2008 there was talk of another WPA style program. But conservatives have been for generations trying to prove the original was not really all that good... no really! And the democrats pivoted to healthcare.

That's the role of the National Guard, and they do incredible work. My brother was in it when they went from our state to help with Katrina.

But he also got sent to Iraq, which questioned the point of having a domestic force which can be used for any purpose the elites want.

So yes, imagine if all this money was diverted to domestic use, local aid, and sciences like NASA. Wow.