World War II (II)Wars are good business. They create immediate demand for a wide variety of materials needed by the government to fight the war. They create job opportunities for people who might not normally be considered part of the regular workforce. And, while not necessarily good for the soldiers engaged in combat, wars are always good for the companies that supply the materials used in war. World War II was very good for business. World War II completed the process of "centralization" of the American economy. The Great Depression of 1929 and America's involvement in the war completed the shift from small, locally operated businesses to large, centralized control. By the end of the war, big business, big unions, and big government dominated the American economy. The federal government issued thousands of contracts to produce war goods. The biggest beneficiaries of the government's largesse have been existing large companies. “Big got bigger,” Norton tells us, and the government “guaranteed profits in the form of fixed-cost contracts, generous tax write-offs, and exemption from antitrust prosecutions.” Large universities received research contracts. Agriculture came to be dominated by "large-scale mechanized enterprises and agricultural cooperatives" rather than family farms. The war “accelerated” this trend because “wealthy institutions were better able…to pay for expensive new machinery” (Norton 524 and 525). The government's huge demand for increased production meant an increased demand for workers. Companies wanted to hire any skilled worker willing to work. The unions wanted only union workers to work in jobs that had been union jobs. This disagreement eventually led to federal involvement in resolving labor disputes. By 1943, labor was dominated by centralized control of unions, union membership rose from 8.5 million in 1940 to over 14.7 million in 1943 (525). In addition to its involvement in labor issues, the federal government also became involved in commercial activities. With the creation of the National War Labor Board in 1941 to resolve labor disputes, and then with the creation of the War Production Board in 1942 to convert the American economy to war production, the federal government had become a third partner in the centralization of American economy. economy. With this increased participation has come an increase in government policy and regulation. This led to an increased demand for federal workers to carry out these policies, and by 1945 the size of the federal government had grown 1.