If WWII (or other total war) hadn't happened, I wonder if the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration would still exist today and in what form.

I think it might be interesting to operate a live backup economy, a low-tech labor intensive one that could produce minimally adequate calories for the whole population for an extended period of time without electronics. This live backup economy would effectively set the minimum wage and be an employer of last resort, though it might be some people's first preference.