Time for a New Approach for Unemployment?

[Kimura]

More than five years after the fall of Lehman Brothers we are still dealing with the problem of high unemployment, the worst kind of “waste” in economic theory.

Is there a better approach? A number of scholars, notably Professor Randy Wray of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, have long proposed a Job Guarantee program or the government as an “employer of last resort,” or ELR.

As Wray notes in the interview below, the U.S. government can proceed directly to zero unemployment by hiring all of the labor that cannot find private sector employment. Furthermore, by fixing the wage paid under this ELR program at a level that does not disrupt existing labor markets, i.e., a wage level close to the existing minimum wage, substantive price stability can be expected. A sizable benefits package should be provided, including vacation and sick leave, contributions to Social Security, and, most importantly, health care benefits, providing scope for a bottom-up reform of the current patchwork health care system.

Using the government as an ELR would not be introducing another element of intrusive bureaucracy into our economy. It would simply offer a better utilization of the existing stock of unemployed who are now dependent on the public purse — especially the chronically long-term unemployed.

The current system we have relies on unemployed labor and excess capacity to try to dampen wage and price increases. However, it pays unemployed labor for not working and allows that labor to depreciate and develop behaviors that act as barriers to future private-sector employment.

INET
L. Randall Wray: Time for a New Approach for Unemployment?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfMnbnMXpOA]L. Randall Wray: Time for a New Approach for Unemployment? - YouTube[/ame]

 

[boedicca]

Making the Government bigger with faux taxpayer subsidized jobs isn't going to help the economy, bub.

 

[Kimura]

Making the Government bigger with faux taxpayer subsidized jobs isn't going to help the economy, bub.

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

 

[Rshermr]

Making the Government bigger with faux taxpayer subsidized jobs isn't going to help the economy, bub.

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

True.

But, cons like boedicca are way too ignorant to understand. And they could care less about the unemployed. So, they will attack anything that helps the unemployed.

They would, however, favor a plan that directs the tax burden AWAY from the wealthy and to the middle class.

 

[Kimura]

Making the Government bigger with faux taxpayer subsidized jobs isn't going to help the economy, bub.

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

True.

But, cons like boedicca are way too ignorant to understand. And they could care less about the unemployed. So, they will attack anything that helps the unemployed.

They would, however, favor a plan that directs the tax burden AWAY from the wealthy and to the middle class.

Professor Wray make VERY valid points. There's all this excess capacity which can be employed. Conservatives should back a JG and ELR because it will get people off the dole, as well as remove the social stigma associated with it.

 

[boedicca]

Making the Government bigger with faux taxpayer subsidized jobs isn't going to help the economy, bub.

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

Scuze me, but the federal government is funded by taxpayers, even when it spends money that is printed by The Fed.

 

[Kimura]

Making the Government bigger with faux taxpayer subsidized jobs isn't going to help the economy, bub.

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

Scuze me, but the federal government is funded by taxpayers, even when it spends money that is printed by The Fed.

Um, no it's not. The government spends by having the FED credit private bank accounts. Tax payments and borrowing occur with money that is already spent.

Secondly, this is a thread related to labor theory, not monetary operations. Just sayin'.

 

[peach174]

Making the Government bigger with faux taxpayer subsidized jobs isn't going to help the economy, bub.

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

TAXPAYERS fund the Government dodo bird.
Without taxes the government would have no money.

Free Market Capitalism does make full time employment.
Government control over businesses causes unemployment and part time work.

 

[Kimura]

Making the Government bigger with faux taxpayer subsidized jobs isn't going to help the economy, bub.

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

TAXPAYERS fund the Government dodo bird.
Without taxes the government would have no money.

Free Market Capitalism does make full time employment.
Government control over businesses causes unemployment and part time work.

No, taxpayers don't fund the federal government, it's a misconception which I've explained many times.

Our economy isn't currently structured to handle full employment, not since the end of the WWII era. Please address the demand gaps and structural unemployment.

 

[Stephanie]

Gawd save us all

then when you go to work you can bow to the picture painted on the side of your building of whoever is President/dictator of that time

 

[peach174]

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

Scuze me, but the federal government is funded by taxpayers, even when it spends money that is printed by The Fed.

Um, no it's not. The government spends by having the FED credit private bank accounts. Tax payments and borrowing occur with money that is already spent.

Secondly, this is a thread related to labor theory, not monetary operations. Just sayin'.

Who taught this wrongheaded bull shit?
The Fed prints money which devalues the dollar and is then has to be paid for by the taxpayers.
The credit comes from borrowing from other countries and it also has to be paid back by the taxpayer.

 

[Kimura]

Here's the bottom line: we should no longer use unemployment as a tool to control inflation. This model is rife with problems. NAIRU should be discarded as a policy, and we should use a national employment buffer stock.

 

[Kimura]

Scuze me, but the federal government is funded by taxpayers, even when it spends money that is printed by The Fed.

Um, no it's not. The government spends by having the FED credit private bank accounts. Tax payments and borrowing occur with money that is already spent.

Secondly, this is a thread related to labor theory, not monetary operations. Just sayin'.

Who taught this wrongheaded bull shit?
The Fed prints money which devalues the dollar and is then has to be paid for by the taxpayers.
The credit comes from borrowing from other countries and it also has to be paid back by the taxpayer.

The FED doesn't "print money", nor does it borrow its own fiat from other countries. The US, as the monopoly issuer of the dollar, doesn't have to borrow that which is freely issues. It also doesn't need to receive its own fiat back in the form of taxes to fund itself.

 

[peach174]

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

TAXPAYERS fund the Government dodo bird.
Without taxes the government would have no money.

Free Market Capitalism does make full time employment.
Government control over businesses causes unemployment and part time work.

No, taxpayers don't fund the federal government, it's a misconception which I've explained many times.

Our economy isn't currently structured to handle full employment, not since the end of the WWII era. Please address the demand gaps and structural unemployment.

The reason the vast majority of new jobs is part time is because of the new Health Care Law. Who ever put in the 30 hour work week was an idiot. It need to be changed back to 40 hours.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Just sayin'...again....underemployment is a bigger problem, with no end in site and more long-term of a problem.
For the life of me why no one really talks about it...

 

[BobPlumb]

We could have an economy that is completely run by central planning before long. Every one's work schedule could be planned using a massive MRP (material resource planning) program that is run by the government.

( sarcasm )

 

[Kimura]

We could have an economy that is completely run by central planning before long. Every one's work schedule could be planned using a massive MRP (material resource planning) program that is run by the government.

( sarcasm )

We're not talking about central planning. The idea being to dump NAIRU in favor of a national employment buffer stock, so you can employ any and all labor. The macroeconomic benefits would be there in the form of inflation control.

 

[boedicca]

It's not funded by the taxpayer, it's funded by the federal government. Secondly, modern capitalist economies aren't structured to handle full employment.

Scuze me, but the federal government is funded by taxpayers, even when it spends money that is printed by The Fed.

Um, no it's not. The government spends by having the FED credit private bank accounts. Tax payments and borrowing occur with money that is already spent.

Secondly, this is a thread related to labor theory, not monetary operations. Just sayin'.

You sad little booby. It's clear that trying to explain to you how the real world functions is pointless.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Don't forget the Three Shells!

 

[boedicca]

We could have an economy that is completely run by central planning before long. Every one's work schedule could be planned using a massive MRP (material resource planning) program that is run by the government.

( sarcasm )

We're not talking about central planning. The idea being to dump NAIRU in favor of a national employment buffer stock, so you can employ any and all labor. The macroeconomic benefits would be there in the form of inflation control.

This is a Big Fat Obamanistic Lie.

 

[BobPlumb]

We could have an economy that is completely run by central planning before long. Every one's work schedule could be planned using a massive MRP (material resource planning) program that is run by the government.

( sarcasm )

We're not talking about central planning. The idea being to dump NAIRU in favor of a national employment buffer stock, so you can employ any and all labor. The macroeconomic benefits would be there in the form of inflation control.

It would be a giant leap in that direction.