Here’s a summary of the plan Bernie Sanders has set out, along with my comments (in italics).Economonitor — Great Leap Forward
A Twelve Step Program To Restore Prosperity: The Bernie Sanders Plan
L. Randall Wray | Professor of Economics, University of Missouri at Kansas City
4 comments:
you need the link
http://www.economonitor.com/lrwray/2014/12/07/a-twelve-step-program-to-restore-prosperity-the-bernie-sanders-plan/
Thanks, Roger. Fixed.
Is there any evidence that old people are not being cared for? If there is a shortage of CNA care workers then why are CNA wages so low? There is only an artificial shortage of doctors.
BTW, there are already a variety of government programs for assisting the elderly.
let workers join together and propose projects. The Job Guarantee program can pay wages in the coops for some predetermined period, letting them get on their feet. If the coops can out-compete private undertakers, let the undertakers go under.
So I am supposed to support a government program that will subsidize my competition and put me out of business? Baloney, that's not fair!
What if the JG workers join together and decide to shoot endangered species? Or the JG workers decide to form a George Zimmerman-style neighborhood watch program? I call BS on delegating the JG to locals. If it is funded with Federal money, then by law it should be debated and voted on by Congress, otherwise there is no public accountability and no assurance that the programs serve a "public purpose."
I am not opposed to nationalizing some large industries -- health care, energy, transportation, internet -- but that is something that should be debated and voted on, not delegated to a JG bureaucrat. I do oppose nationalizing small mom and pop businesses, which is what Randy seems to be suggesting.
$15 per hour with full and free health, childcare, education, maternity leave, and retirement benefits
Commendable, but better to have universal social benefits administered directly by the national government, regardless of employment status.
Factories will never again be an important source of work for Americans. Most factory jobs will be taken by robots, anyway.
Baloney. Robots need skilled workers to design, install, program, and maintain them (that's what I do).
To the extent that robots can replace humans, that is a good reason to shorten the work week and lower the retirement age.
The already wealthy nations need to focus in jobs in services,
Baloney. The service economy is driven by inequality -- rich people hire poor people to perform services, not the other way around.
At the elementary and high school levels, we need more teachers. The solution is better pay, and free education at our teacher’s colleges.
In fact, there is a glut of teachers and always has been.
Provide free universal health care with a single payer
Single payer implies private providers. Why not public providers?
Eliminate financial barriers to seniors working—let them collect their Social Security benefits while they continue to work
Disagree. Old people need to retire, to make room for young workers. There is no shortage of workers and never has been, so what's up with the Puritanical work ethic?
raise all Social Security benefits to the maximum now paid.
Agree. BTW, the current max is about $2500/month.
Tax all income—no matter the source—at a progressive rate.
Agree!
Impute all corporate profits to owners and tax it as income....but also eliminate corporate taxes.
Important to link those two things. Corporations impose real costs on society so it is fair and appropriate to tax corporations.
Overall, Randy has many good proposals, but is blinded by free trade and by putting too much faith in a JG to solve all our job problems. He only proposed 2 specific JG activities -- competing with existing elderly care providers, and competing with existing mom and pop private businesses. Neither makes a lick of sense and it's an example of why I continue to be skeptical of the MMT JG.
BTW, the first paragraph in my previous post refers to Randy's suggestion that JG workers take care of old people.
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