USA Emergency Jobs For Americans (proposed bill)
There are 32 million people in the United States that need jobs, or at least more hours. Amongst these, 14 million are officially counted as unemployed. Due to the jobs crisis, the USA should pass the USA Emergency Jobs For Americans bill to create ten million temporary minimum wage jobs.
Minimum wage in the USA is $7.25. The cost to employ a person, full time, would be 40 hours/week x 52 weeks x $7.25/hour = $15,080/year. The cost to employ 10 million for a year would be in the range of $150 billion dollars. This people would then spend all of the money, supporting the private sector with a $150 billion boost. The number of private sector jobs saved or created would probably number between 2 and 5 million.
The bill should be proposed by the President during his State of the Union address. It should be the only topic in his speech.
Key points the President should make:
1. Spending nation wide has fallen precipitously. The result is a jobs crisis in the private sector, which is also leading to a jobs crisis in state and local governments.
2. All attempts to encourage people to spend more have failed. Spending is (most likely) continuing to decline.
3. Businesses are unable to hire because such decisions depend on the need for workers, and given falling sales, there is no feasible way to hire, especially given that businesses much remain "in the black" to survive.
4. To pull the nation out of this jobs crisis, and in order to improve the economy and help people stay in their jobs, plus perhaps creating more private sector jobs, the public sector will put to work ten million unemployed Americans, in an emergency measure.
Questions and Answers
1. What will they do?
The people will do every kind productive public work. Each community shall decide precisely what productive work needs to be done, that has been left undone due to a lack of funds.
For example, in the village of Bear Lake, Michigan, the village council would decide what needed to be done. Ideas might include:
a. Reading tutors for elementary students at the school
b. Community education teachers, to teach free classes to adults and teens
c. Taking care of sidewalks, including shoveling, repairing cement, putting in new sidewalks, edging them, etc.
d. Taking care of the parks and public lands, cleaning the beach, painting the structures, serving as lifeguard, etc.
e. Helping seniors and others put in gardens, store food, etc.
Again, it would be up to each community to decide precisely what productive work could and should be done.
2. Who will get the jobs?
Anyone who resides in that local government district will be eligible to apply. Hiring decisions will be made by the local units of government, with local control.
3. What if a significant number of the job seekers are "unemployables" and do nothing and just collect a check, will they get fired and replaced?
The local units of government would supervise the workers. Local units could also employ a person to coordinate and supervise the other workers.
4. What will you pay "these people"?
The hourly pay will be the US federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. All jobs would be created as full time positions, 40-hours for 52-weeks per year.
5. What businesses that already exist will "you obliterate" with those "new programs"?
Businesses would benefit greatly from the program as they would receive billions of dollars in new spending. Jobs within communities would be created to provide productive services that were not otherwise being provided.
6. When will the program end?
The program will be phased out as the private sector regains strength, and as the unemployment rate declines to the target goal rate. Normally, the target rate in the USA has been 3%.
7. How long would it take to get the program started?
The program would be started immediately upon approval. In the State of the Union address, the President would call upon all citizens, and all units of government, to create list of productive public jobs, and a plan for supervision. A federal web site would be created to accept applications nation-wide. Local units of government would enter hours worked, work done, etc. for each worker. Each worker would receive a federal debit-card attached to that citizens account at the Treasury. Funds would be distributed on a weekly basis.
8. What sorts of benefits would be provided?
There would be no benefits other than those received by any other full time minimum wage worker. The jobs would be in all regards similar to other full time minimum wage jobs.
Conclusion
The key points to understand is that the private sector is experiencing a crisis due to declining sales. All attempts to increase sales have failed. The population as a whole is reducing spending and paying down household debt, which is decreasing the money/credit supply. This has become a self-reinforcing spiral, and without action, it could lead to a very deep depression.
The solution is for the US federal government to hire directly millions of Americans to do productive work within their own communities. These new workers would spend all of their income paying bills, increasing spending, and supporting millions of jobs in the private sector.
Minimum wage in the USA is $7.25. The cost to employ a person, full time, would be 40 hours/week x 52 weeks x $7.25/hour = $15,080/year. The cost to employ 10 million for a year would be in the range of $150 billion dollars. This people would then spend all of the money, supporting the private sector with a $150 billion boost. The number of private sector jobs saved or created would probably number between 2 and 5 million.
The bill should be proposed by the President during his State of the Union address. It should be the only topic in his speech.
Key points the President should make:
1. Spending nation wide has fallen precipitously. The result is a jobs crisis in the private sector, which is also leading to a jobs crisis in state and local governments.
2. All attempts to encourage people to spend more have failed. Spending is (most likely) continuing to decline.
3. Businesses are unable to hire because such decisions depend on the need for workers, and given falling sales, there is no feasible way to hire, especially given that businesses much remain "in the black" to survive.
4. To pull the nation out of this jobs crisis, and in order to improve the economy and help people stay in their jobs, plus perhaps creating more private sector jobs, the public sector will put to work ten million unemployed Americans, in an emergency measure.
Questions and Answers
1. What will they do?
The people will do every kind productive public work. Each community shall decide precisely what productive work needs to be done, that has been left undone due to a lack of funds.
For example, in the village of Bear Lake, Michigan, the village council would decide what needed to be done. Ideas might include:
a. Reading tutors for elementary students at the school
b. Community education teachers, to teach free classes to adults and teens
c. Taking care of sidewalks, including shoveling, repairing cement, putting in new sidewalks, edging them, etc.
d. Taking care of the parks and public lands, cleaning the beach, painting the structures, serving as lifeguard, etc.
e. Helping seniors and others put in gardens, store food, etc.
Again, it would be up to each community to decide precisely what productive work could and should be done.
2. Who will get the jobs?
Anyone who resides in that local government district will be eligible to apply. Hiring decisions will be made by the local units of government, with local control.
3. What if a significant number of the job seekers are "unemployables" and do nothing and just collect a check, will they get fired and replaced?
The local units of government would supervise the workers. Local units could also employ a person to coordinate and supervise the other workers.
4. What will you pay "these people"?
The hourly pay will be the US federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. All jobs would be created as full time positions, 40-hours for 52-weeks per year.
5. What businesses that already exist will "you obliterate" with those "new programs"?
Businesses would benefit greatly from the program as they would receive billions of dollars in new spending. Jobs within communities would be created to provide productive services that were not otherwise being provided.
6. When will the program end?
The program will be phased out as the private sector regains strength, and as the unemployment rate declines to the target goal rate. Normally, the target rate in the USA has been 3%.
7. How long would it take to get the program started?
The program would be started immediately upon approval. In the State of the Union address, the President would call upon all citizens, and all units of government, to create list of productive public jobs, and a plan for supervision. A federal web site would be created to accept applications nation-wide. Local units of government would enter hours worked, work done, etc. for each worker. Each worker would receive a federal debit-card attached to that citizens account at the Treasury. Funds would be distributed on a weekly basis.
8. What sorts of benefits would be provided?
There would be no benefits other than those received by any other full time minimum wage worker. The jobs would be in all regards similar to other full time minimum wage jobs.
Conclusion
The key points to understand is that the private sector is experiencing a crisis due to declining sales. All attempts to increase sales have failed. The population as a whole is reducing spending and paying down household debt, which is decreasing the money/credit supply. This has become a self-reinforcing spiral, and without action, it could lead to a very deep depression.
The solution is for the US federal government to hire directly millions of Americans to do productive work within their own communities. These new workers would spend all of their income paying bills, increasing spending, and supporting millions of jobs in the private sector.