To bring back financial stability and put the unemployed to work we must raise the wages to at least $15 to $18 an hour, but there is an even quicker way to matching aggregate supply and demand and this is the most important role of the government fiscal policy that is make sure the U.S. has the $16 trillion in purchasing power to buy the $16 trillion in goods and services that we produce each year.
For a little more than one-third of the military budget we could have full employment of the 11 million people in the U.S. The fastest way yet is to do what the Swiss will be voting on this fall and that is to pay its citizens $2,800 a month regardless if they work or not. This campaign for a Europe-wide basic income is gaining ground. This would be full employment, which would give workers much greater bargaining power for wages, childcare, eldercare, hiring disabled workers and a much higher standard of living with pensions and healthcare when too old to work anymore.
Those who want to work will be encouraged to do so, but those who don’t want to do will have money to provide for themselves and their families while circulating money in the economy. By giving people money it creates jobs in the production side, but also in the administration of the funds. Not everyone can handle money and some need assistance in money management, which can be done privately as well as by a government agency. These agencies, both private and governmental, already exist.
This is also good for business for they will get people who want to work, younger workers with hope and a brighter future. There are many more ways to solve the low wage problem and full employment such as shorter hours, work sharing, shorter work weeks. Most of these ideas are band-aides that will only work for a while. The guaranteed income offers compensation for all those engaged in the kinds of activities that promote the business that employers make use of, but never pay for and it offers a better way to distribute income.
These are the best choices for the workers and the capitalist consumer system. The other will be decided in the streets here and the rest of the working world. Now is the time. We still have a chance by using the people power and the vote, which is much better than the alternative of rioting in the streets. Just look at Rio de Janeiro, Taipei, Venezuela, Ukraine, South Korea, and the steel workers in Pittsburg, P.A., and the list goes on.
These countries are on the brink of the tipping point, but we have the answers as mentioned above we just need the will.
Unions’ long game is to get all union contracts to expire on the same day nationwide. The United Auto Workers combines contracts ends on April 28, 2028. This could then result in a mass national strike starting on May Day beeginning that year. This could then put enormous pressure on employers, but also on lawmakers. It’s the muscle and sweat of the workers that keeps this country great, not the individual company or corporations. This May Day strike would be the time to change the workers’ world for the better by negotiating for a 32-hour week with the same pay, and the U.S. adopts a healthcare for all with no out of pocket costs. This would also help the employers as they would no longer have to provide healthcare. By striking, the UAW won same pay for new workers, all UAW contracts will end on the same date, a 25-percent pay increase, a cost of living adjustments, a guaranteed right to strike over potential plant closures, and also the right to vote to unionize through the card che
Comments
Post a Comment