ABSTRACT
The American economy is adrift in a space defined by the national debt. The need for an anchor is being felt. All along, scholars working outside the mainstream have made the case for a labor standard (Wray, 2011, is a recent example). Employment would be determined by buffer stock operations in able-bodied workers. All those willing to work at a prevailing wage would be registered at employment exchanges. During a “great moderation”, the buffer stock would be run down as the private sector would provide employment at high wages. However, during a downswing the state would step in with large projects that would employ eager hands. Thus, the cognoscenti have distinguished sharply between the economics of employment creation associated with Keynes and aggregate demand management associated with Keynesians (Tcherneva, 2011). The idea is to give money as earned income to the unemployed to serve the young, the elderly, the sick, the permanently ill or severely disabled. The pro-poor income growth patterns, it turns out, are stronger than investment along the traditional lines. Apart from the obvious social benefits of public provisioning, an equally strong reason for these employment guarantee schemes is to move unpaid work into the monetary circuit. It has long been established that home-based health care and early childhood development are an effective employment policy. Instead of public sector employment only to address the worst of the cycle, here is a plan for the permanent expansion of public service delivery.
