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WHAT IS A JOB GUARANTEE by Iain Dooley
A Job Guarantee is a federally funded, locally administered programme that offers anyone willing and able to work a community job at a socially inclusive minimum wage.
This eliminates involuntary unemployment, sets a floor price for labour below which we deem employment to be exploitative and ensures a minimum standard of living below which we deem people to be unable to fully participate in the economy.
This page answers some common questions about how a Job Guarantee works, as well as providing links to resources for those who wish to learn more.
What is full employment?
Mainstream economists and politicians will typically claim that somewhere around 5% unemployment is actually full employment, and below that rate we will experience excessive inflation. However in many countries after WWII unemployment rarely reached above 2% for over 40 years. A Job Guarantee defines full employment as 0% involuntary unemployment. That is, anyone who wants to work, can have a job.
What is a socially inclusive minimum wage?
It's tricky to put a number into a document like this that is intended for global consumption over a long period of time, but basically a socially inclusive minimum wage means you have enough money to take care of your basic needs, then consume some of the output you produce. An example is that if you're working full time at a factory that makes widgets, then you have enough money to pay for housing, food, clothing, utilities and buy a widget every now and again. Another way of putting it is that a socially inclusive minimum wage is one that allows you to fully participate in the economy and society by taking part in social activities that cost money (such as meeting a friend at a cafe and not having to ask them to buy the coffee every time).
How would the government pay to employ everyone who was unemployed by the private sector?
http://jobguarantee.org/
A Job Guarantee is a federally funded, locally administered programme that offers anyone willing and able to work a community job at a socially inclusive minimum wage.
This eliminates involuntary unemployment, sets a floor price for labour below which we deem employment to be exploitative and ensures a minimum standard of living below which we deem people to be unable to fully participate in the economy.
This page answers some common questions about how a Job Guarantee works, as well as providing links to resources for those who wish to learn more.
What is full employment?
Mainstream economists and politicians will typically claim that somewhere around 5% unemployment is actually full employment, and below that rate we will experience excessive inflation. However in many countries after WWII unemployment rarely reached above 2% for over 40 years. A Job Guarantee defines full employment as 0% involuntary unemployment. That is, anyone who wants to work, can have a job.
What is a socially inclusive minimum wage?
It's tricky to put a number into a document like this that is intended for global consumption over a long period of time, but basically a socially inclusive minimum wage means you have enough money to take care of your basic needs, then consume some of the output you produce. An example is that if you're working full time at a factory that makes widgets, then you have enough money to pay for housing, food, clothing, utilities and buy a widget every now and again. Another way of putting it is that a socially inclusive minimum wage is one that allows you to fully participate in the economy and society by taking part in social activities that cost money (such as meeting a friend at a cafe and not having to ask them to buy the coffee every time).
How would the government pay to employ everyone who was unemployed by the private sector?
http://jobguarantee.org/
