Asking the right question. The challenge for the future of work is not really about the quantity of jobs, but their quality, and whether they pay enough to provide a decent standard of living. In the US, ensuring that they do starts with raising the minimum wage and ensuring that other existing tools don't go unused. Pavlina needs to get in contact with Laura and set her straight. Similarly, proposals in the United States for a federal jobs guarantee have been gaining momentum on the...
Read More »IPA’s weekly links
Guest post by Jeff Mosenkis of Innovations for Poverty Action. Snot corn! That’s crop scientist Sarah Taber’s nickname for the variety of maize native Mexicans cultivated that allowed it to grow very high in very poor soil. According to a genetic sequencing published by UC Davis researchers, the secret is in the mucus-like goop around roots that are out in the open. The bacteria in the goop allow the plant to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, effectively fertilizing itself from the air....
Read More »Bill Mitchell — The plaintive, I just want to do my art!
Bill excoriates the UBI.Bill Mitchell – billy blogThe plaintive, I just want to do my art!Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Read More »Bill Mitchell — UBI advocates ignore the dynamic efficiencies of full employment
I have written about the concept of dynamic efficiency before. The most recent blog post on this theme was – The ‘truth sandwich’ and the impacts of neoliberalism (June 19, 2018) – which examined how social mobility across generations has been declining as a result of the decades of entrenched unemployment driven by neoliberal austerity biases. I also outlined the proposition in this blog post – US labour market reality debunks mainstream view about structural impediments (January 15,...
Read More »Jeff Epstein — The Federal Job Guarantee Is Not Just “Better” Than a Universal Basic Income. It’s the Only Reasonable Option. Universal Basic Income Is Sinister.
Yves here. Another way to think about the warning of this post is: Beware of Silicon Valley libertarian billionaires bearing gifts. Naked CapitalismThe Federal Job Guarantee Is Not Just “Better” Than a Universal Basic Income. It’s the Only Reasonable Option. Universal Basic Income Is Sinister. Jeff Epstein, an independent and progressive journalist with Citizens’ Media TV Originally published on Citizens’ Media TV
Read More »Bill Mitchell – Basic income guarantee progressives cosy up with the worst CEOs in the world
A short blog post today (Wednesday and all). I am working on the revisions to our Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) textbook that will be published by Macmillan-Palgrave in November 2018. We have all the editorial and external reviews available now and are working through the editorial process to complete the final version. Mostly clarifications and style issues. There will be a slight rearrangement of chapter order and emphasis but nothing major. In the meantime, some thoughts on UBI and some...
Read More »Tyler Prochazka — Professor argues for job guarantee over basic income
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is gaining more traction in mainstream discourse, but the academic debate has been heating up for years. One scholar with a sympathetic but critical eye towards basic income still believes it is not the best priority for activists. Philip Harvey, a professor of law at Rutgers, wrote that a job guarantee could eliminate poverty for a fraction of the cost of UBI — $1.5 trillion less.Harvey argued in 2006 that the focus on UBI may be crowding out more realistic...
Read More »Bruce Lesnick — The Unemployment Conspiracy
JG v. UBICounterpunchThe Unemployment ConspiracyBruce Lesnick
Read More »IPA’s weekly links
Guest post by Jeff Mosenkis of Innovations for Poverty Action. An attempt to measure and rank the most effective ways to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere ranked educating girls and family planning (globally) above green energy. Fewer unplanned births means fewer carbon footprints. (h/t Osman Siddiqi) On Monday, President Trump expanded the “global gag rule” to mean no funding can go to any NGO that also discusses abortion with beneficiaries anywhere in their operations. This expansion grows its...
Read More »