Writing in the April 4 th The Nation, William Mitchell, director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity at the University of Newcastle, Australia, pointed out, "With real wages lagging well behind productivity growth, a new way had to be found to keep workers consuming," and that way was "financial engineering," a euphemism for the credit card binge that "pushed ever increasing debt onto the household sector." Rather than have people borrow to lay their hands on cash, Mitchell advocates "an open-ended public employment program---a Job Guarantee---that offers a job at a living (minimum) wage to anyone who wants to work but cannot find employment." He adds, "These jobs would 'hire off the bottom,' in the sense that minimum wages are not in competition with the market-sector wage structure."
Mitchell reminds that in the early days of the current financial crisis, "there were no questions asked" when the government "instantly provided billions for the banks." In short, instead of shedding government jobs as Wisconsin and other states and cities are are doing --- cutting vital services to boot---governments should be creating jobs. And why not? The tax dollars for the task could easily come from those at the top of the economic pyramid not paying their fair share. There may even be some Tea Party boosters who could use a job, even one created via liberal economic policies. Instead of waging war on Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, ad nauseum, when will President Obama put the real needs of the American people first?#
(Disclosure: Sherwood Ross was formerly employed as News Director for the National Urban League and has been a consultant to labor unions. He now runs a public relations firm for "good causes.")
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