President Hoover did increase federal spending on public works as a way of trying to lessen unemployment. $700 million on such projects in 1931 was unprecedentedly high. However, he grew more hostile with the passage of time believing a huge work relief program might be as demoralizing as a dole.
New York Software Engineers can expect to earn an average of $94K annually. Total cash compensation to Software Engineers in New York, N.Y. approaches anywhere from $62K on the lower end to $136K on the higher end; in exceptional cases, this can include more than $20K from bonuses and upwards of $17K from profit sharing.
To move this back from games, here in New York, an average senior C++ programmer in finance gets anywhere between 150 and 250k/yr, and companies that aren't doing finance have to match the salaries or lose the people. it's no picnic, though, long hours doesn't even begin to describe it.