Reserve Army Of The Hungry — Brian Romanchuk

I have returned from the 3rd annual Modern Monetary Theory conference, and I am now catching up on things. One of the observations that stuck with me was some comments about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) made by the presenter Maggie Dickinson. She noted that the welfare state did not contract completely since the 1980s, as some components have grown, with SNAP being an example of growth. While thinking about this, I realised that the rise in food assistance (such as SNAP, as well as food banks, which have grown in importance in the other "anglo" countries at least) helps explain the breakdown in employment statistics as an indicator.
Noting that the unemployment rate is "broken" as an indicator as a result of the changing structure of the labour market is not particularly novel. For example, Bill Mitchell's academic work has documented the structural changes in employment policies in the OECD since the early 1990s, and the rise of "underemployment." (Bill Mitchell is one of the founders of MMT, and I was on a panel with at the conference.) My concern is somewhat more stark: employment status as a whole has become somewhat meaningless as an indicator.
(Note: the panels are available on video at: https://www.mmtconference.org/)
I will first discuss some of the more "technocratic" implications of my thinking first, then dip into political economic ramblings....

Bond Economics
Reserve Army Of The Hungry
Brian Romanchuk