Lambert Strether — The Jobs Guarantee, “Make-Work,” and FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

One of the talking points deployed against a Jobs Guarantee[1] is “make-work.”[2] (I’m not proffering a complete sentence because deployment, in form of a jerking knee, is so fast that complete sentence cannot be emitted in time). This makes me crazy, because I was taught about FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) back in grade school, and while the CCC was not “A job for everyone who wants one,” the work the millions employed by CCC did was most definitely not “make-work.” So in this post, I want to take a quick look at the CCC, because not all readers may be familiar with it, and then take a quick look at what a modern CCC might do. (In other words, I’m recapturing a little history here — even perhaps doing a little bit of a rant — not doing serious policy analysis.)

Naked Capitalism
The Jobs Guarantee, “Make-Work,” and FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Lambert Strether of Corrente

Johnny Fulfer — It’s Time to Guarantee Jobs

The first half of the twentieth century was a challenging time for economics. The Great Depression wiped out incomes, investments, and most importantly, optimism. But when the traditional laissez-faire approach proved ineffective, the work of Keynes and FDR showed that there was another way. The New Deal employed American workers directly and restored confidence among business owners. Today, we could benefit from a similar program. It’s time for a new New Deal, or a Job Guarantee Program, that secures employment to all who are able and willing to work. We’ve done it before, and we can do it again....

Job guarantees are not unexplored territory. Maps exist.

The Minskys
It’s Time to Guarantee Jobs
Johnny Fulfer

Ralph Musgrave — Government as employer of last resort.

This is a summary of the arguments for allocating ELR people to EXISTING employers rather than to specially set up schemes or “employers” as was the case with the WPA in the 1930s.

Read it Ralphonomics
Government as employer of last resort.

by Ralph Musgrave

John Henry — A Federally-Funded Jobs Program?

In the current debates surrounding various job guarantee programs (in association with the Chartalist or Modern Money perspectives), it might prove helpful to review some aspects of the Works Progress Administration (renamed in 1939 as Work Projects Administration).  While the WPA was not a “job guarantee” program, it nevertheless points to a number of issues that are under current discussion, including those of the nature of the projects undertaken, impact on the larger economy, concerns surrounding bureaucratic impediments, etc.

Read it at New Economic Perspectives
A Federally-Funded Jobs Program? Lessons from the WPA
By John Henry

(h/t Clonal)