Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Patrick Wood — Should every Australian be offered a government-funded job?

US economist Stephanie Kelton, who served as Bernie Sanders' economic adviser during the 2016 presidential campaign, is currently touring Australia to promote the concept she says isn't too good to be true.
"There is nothing to prevent the Australian government, if it chose to do so, from funding a large-scale government job program that would offer employment to anybody who wanted work and couldn't find it anywhere else in the Australian economy," she said. 
"Let the private sector create as many good jobs as it is willing to create, but the problem is there is always a segment of the population that doesn't get invited to the table. 
"And so this program is there as a backstop to just soak up the people who are left behind."
ABC (Australia)
Should every Australian be offered a government-funded job?
Patrick Wood

3 comments:

Ryan Harris said...

Imagine the junkies and alcoholics left behind here. It seems like the salvation army or some of these social assistance programs that are halfway between a job and treatment are better designed than a job guarantee as they provide necessary structure and path to sobriety/treatment rather than a no-strings-attached paycheck without any responsibility to show up regularly or whatever.

Society doesn't need to demand alot from people in a JG but... I've had some employees that were alcoholics and drug abusers and they can go from one day being lovely, people, so hopeful and you think you're helping people that have recovered and talking about hope, goodwill and utopian ideals and boom, the next day, evil horrific junkies emerge from their cocoon. A job is wasted on them, actually harmful for all involved.

Andrew Anderson said...

Imagine the junkies and alcoholics left behind here. Ryan Harris

I'd rather imagine that people weren't so Biblically ignorant:

Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to him whose life is bitter.
Let him drink and forget his poverty
And remember his trouble no more.


Open your mouth for the mute,
For the rights of all the unfortunate.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Proverbs 31:6-9 [bold added]

S400 said...

There aren’t any claims that a Job guarantee shall replace rehab institutions.