Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Max Sawicky — Jobs for all–the impossible dream?

My friend Matt Bruenig does consistently great stuff, but I have to object to his recent critique of the idea of a Job Guarantee (often called the government as an Employer of Last Resort, or ‘ELR’). I want to walk through his arguments, point by point.
This explainer by the illustrious Randy Wray provides background on the entire idea, including the macroeconomics of ELR, while Matt and I mostly stick to the mechanics.
MaxSpeak
Jobs for all–the impossible dream?
Max Sawicky

2 comments:

Dan Lynch said...

"Day care centers and public schools could use teachers’ aides."

So who will be the teacher's aide during booms when the ELR pool dries up?

Name something worth doing, and chances are it needs to be done on an ongoing basis, not just during recessions.

Yes, right now there are many public projects that need to be done because of 38 years of neoliberal austerity (dating back to Carter). The logical first step is to end neoliberal austerity.

I would support a jobs program as a step in the right direction. Also Sandwichman's proposal to reduce the workweek. But if I were forced to pick just one policy to encourage full employment, it would be functional finance budgeting by way of linking the tax rate(s) to the unemployment rate.

Ralph Musgrave said...

Dan,

The large majority of teachers (certainly in the UK) manage without an “aid”. But that doesn’t mean an aid wouldn’t be useful if there happens to be one available. JG jobs by their very nature are non-essential, but that doesn’t mean they are totally useless.

Re the rest of your comment which far as I can see advocates increasing aggregate demand, yes obviously keeping demand as high as inflation allows is desirable. But having done that, there will still be a number of unemployed who can be matched to relatively unproductive jobs. The latter jobs increase output a small amount, plus they give those concerned some work experience. The evidence is that “on the job” practical experience (particularly in the private sector) beats formal training when it comes to increasing peoples’chance of finding a regular or unsubsidised job.