In seeking to clarify my position that full employment could be readily achieved if Americans were willing to cooperate with each other in order to accomplish it, the math is quite simple: Reduce everyone's pay by 10% in order to give jobs to the unemployed who want to work. It seems counter-intuitive to suggest this as a remedy, since by implementing this plan there would be no net increase or decrease, but only a redistribution of existing wages.
The conundrum which this presents is that everyone who is employed will at least temporarily be forced to reduce their living expenses by 10% in order to accomplish all of this hiring. Many would say that it would be impossible to get those with jobs to reduce their pay even temporarily for the good of their fellow Americans.
The truth is that if we lost our jobs, we would then be forced to live on much less income than we have now. Initially there would be hardship, but eventually we would be able to adjust our expenses through various means in order to live with this new 90% budget.
Planned austerity is much better than forced austerity. If at a national, state and local level we choose a date--for example, January 1, 2012 to implement this national austerity, then everyone is onboard with the plan simultaneously and can plan ahead accordingly. Participation by all entities, including retailers, wholesalers, services, estimating, bidding and purchasing, expenses could then be synchronized with the 10% reduction in income levels to facilitate a seamless transition.
This sounds more complicated than it is. As a nation, Americans have tremendous leverage when buying goods and services. As a group, we have more purchasing power by far than any other nation or entity on earth. Therefore we can set both the example and the pace of our recovery efforts with a unified plan which conjoins income and expenses to accommodate this process.
Everyone seems to agree that high unemployment is the most important item on the agenda in order to get our economy rolling again. This would increase production, income and tax revenues, as well as improve our national outlook. As we look forward to welcoming more of our military home later on this year and next year, as we consider the historically high unemployment figures, and as we look ahead to an election year full of promising and hopeful candidates, what could be more appropriate than focusing on job creation?
These jobs need not be created out of thin air, as if there were not already established businesses which are capable of increasing production, expanding internal and external infrastructures, and developing and promoting the goods and services which originate here. Provided positive business incentives, American business ingenuity would discover ways to create, develop and transform themselves to afford an increased labor force capable of accomplishing these goals.
Since overcoming inertia on a business, political and personal level has become a problem of epic proportions as this recession has continued, we will need to move out of our comfort zone, seize the bull by the horns, stop stonewalling and finger-pointing and stop waiting for someone else to do something about it. Let's begin boldly with a requirement that every company with 10 employees or more in the U.S. increase their employees by 10%. Those who are able to do so within the first 6 months without reducing employee compensation should be offered investment incentives. Those who are unable or unwilling to comply with this requirement within 12 months should either be assessed a penalty or have their equivalent tax deductions withheld until the terms of this requirement are met.
If everyone from the President to the janitor, from the Congress to the secretary, from the CEO to the laborer would simultaneously stand in solidarity with a planned austerity income reduction of 10%, matched by a 10% expense reduction, together we could solve our national unemployment problem.
I am confident that as patriotic and compassionate Americans, we will find a way to accomplish the goal of full employment for those who have lost the means to participate in our economy. In doing so, many of our stagnating problems will disappear like a swamp which has been drained. The usable land which is then made available through this process will support and enrich our lives.
