Some Persistent Questions Answered Regarding the Job Guarantee

I’ve still not finished moving house. What might have been a straight-forward task has turned into chaos preparing the sub-floor. Piles of household items, furniture and wall decor are now everywhere cluttering the house. So, I am sitting in my garage using an untrustworthy Windows 10 box that I had lying about, rather than my beloved Mac (which I refuse to have running in a garage), sweltering in the heat and humidity. This then is the reason why I’ve not posted this week, nor been able to give a proper reply to anyone (including George Kendall, whom I must get back to soon – Apologies George.). I’ve promised a few answers to nagging questions regarding the function of the JG, so this morning during a break in activity, I’ll get to some, but not all.

Universal Basic Income: An Economic “Destabilizer”

As an addendum to yesterday's article concerning the Job Guarantee versus the UBI, I’d like to clarify a couple of points concerning the inflationary aspects of a UBI and its inability to discipline inflation. In yesterday's article I chose to address the potential wage-price spiral effects caused by a UBI, because the point that all income maintenance programs such as a UBI only increase aggregate demand has already been hammered into the ground. However, today I will address this point from a different angle, hopefully providing some clarity to the layman.

A Few Words on UBI and the Job Guarantee

Members of the general public were probably unaware that several months ago, an intense debate raged between two differing camps on macro policy, namely those in the federal Job Guarantee camp and those promoting a UBI. Briefly, I wish to discuss the two proposals for the benefit of the public. Before I begin, however, I’d like to mention my approach with the public. 

GDP Redistribution and The Federal Job Guarantee Proposal

Today, I’ll be discussing what GDP is, how it is moved to profits (the 1%) and how we can reverse 35 plus years of GDP redistribution by initiating a federal Job Guarantee. For part of this discussion, we will review material from previous posts that are relevant to the topic at hand.