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On 11 January 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt clearly and precisely stated his administration’s economic goals and rolled out the New Deal. 1944 America was much different than 2012 America and David Batker and John de Graaf, writing for Fast Company‘s Co.EXIST, note that what Roosevelt was talking about (as Thomas Jefferson had before him) was not growth or a higher gross domestic product, but rather happiness and well being. With that in mind, Batker and de Graaf “propose some first steps in an effort to rethink our economy so it can give all of us what we need in this new era” in order to affect a “holistic pattern of policy changes.”

Here, then is their rough outline:

1. Give us time
2. Improve life possibilities from birth
3. Build a healthy nation
4. Enlarge the middle class
5. Value natural capital
6. Fix taxes and subsidies
7. Strengthen the financial system
8. Build a new energy infrastructure
9. Strengthen community and improve mobility
10. Improve governance

Next, read Batker and de Graaf’s What’s The Economy For, Anyway?: Why It’s Time to Stop Chasing Growth and Start Pursuing Happiness.