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Research Article
Open Access

A Path to Ending Poverty by Way of Ending Unemployment: A Federal Job Guarantee

Mark Paul, William Darity, Jr., Darrick Hamilton, Khaing Zaw
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences February 2018, 4 (3) 44-63; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2018.4.3.03
Mark Paul
aPostdoctoral associate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, 2024 West Main St., Campus Box 104407, Durham, NC 27705
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  • For correspondence: mark.paul@duke.edu
William Darity Jr.
bSamuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics, and director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, 2024 West Main St., Campus Box 104407, Durham, NC 27705
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  • For correspondence: william.darity@duke.edu
Darrick Hamilton
cAssociate professor of economics and urban policy at the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy and Department of Economics, New School for Social Research, and director of the doctoral program in public and urban policy at the New School, 72 Fifth Ave., Room 707, New York, NY 10011
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  • For correspondence: hamiltod@newschool.edu
Khaing Zaw
cResearch associate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, 2024 West Main St., Campus Box 104407, Durham, NC 27705
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  • For correspondence: khai.zaw@duke.edu
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Abstract

Poverty in the United States, one of the world’s most wealthy and prosperous nations, is persistently high. Despite a complex array of social insurance programs in place, 43.1 million people remain in poverty. Because unemployment is a strong predictor of poverty, we propose a permanent federal job guarantee for all Americans. The program would provide full-time employment for any American over eighteen, offering at least nonpoverty wages plus benefits. Such a program will constitute a direct route to producing full employment by eradicating involuntary unemployment. It also will substantially increase worker bargaining power by removing the employer threat of unemployment. To make the case that the federal job guarantee is viable, this paper includes responses to five common criticisms lodged against programs of this type.

  • job guarantee
  • employment
  • poverty
  • human rights
  • second Bill of Rights

Open Access Policy: RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences is an open access journal. This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences: 4 (3)
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Vol. 4, Issue 3
1 Feb 2018
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A Path to Ending Poverty by Way of Ending Unemployment: A Federal Job Guarantee
Mark Paul, William Darity, Darrick Hamilton, Khaing Zaw
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Feb 2018, 4 (3) 44-63; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.3.03

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A Path to Ending Poverty by Way of Ending Unemployment: A Federal Job Guarantee
Mark Paul, William Darity, Darrick Hamilton, Khaing Zaw
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences Feb 2018, 4 (3) 44-63; DOI: 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.3.03
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Keywords

  • job guarantee
  • employment
  • poverty
  • human rights
  • second Bill of Rights

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