The National Recovery Administration (NRA), was founded in 1933 in order to make
and oversee codes of fair competition in business. Some of the laws passed by the NRA
insured minimum wage, decent working hours, the abolishment of child labor, and the
new right to create trade unions. The NRA had 23,000,000 people working under it's
various fair code laws, but it affected millions more. It was a necessary step in order
to insure a decent wage went home so people had money to buy things to support the
economy. An actual cost for the project is somewhat impossible to determine due to
the fact that it was just a group of laws. Presumably, the cost to companies would
have been substantial, yet there is no data on the topic.
    In 1935, the Supreme Court ruled this Administration was unconstitutional
because they supposedly took unfair legislative lobbying powers. After this, it was
left with but a few codes until it collapsed in 1936. Some of its codes were resurrected
a few years later. Two modern day versions of it are the Fair Labor Standard Act
and the National Labor Relations Board.
    Resistance to this corporation came mainly from corporations
who feared an extreme loss of profit. Some common citizens
whose lives were controlled by the various political machines also resisted it because they were told to.
    Modern day libertarians would be appalled by the creation of this, whereas as, Socialists would be pleased.
 

Bibliography:

"National Recovery Administration".FactMonster Encyclopedia. 16 April 2003
    http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/history/A0834965.html