RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Path to Ending Poverty by Way of Ending Unemployment: A Federal Job Guarantee
JF RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
FD Russell Sage Foundation
SP 44
OP 63
DO 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.3.03
VO 4
IS 3
A1 Mark Paul
A1 William Darity, Jr.
A1 Darrick Hamilton
A1 Khaing Zaw
YR 2018
UL http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/4/3/44.abstract
AB 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.