ABSTRACT
Not wishing to prejudice anyone for or against the Humphrey-Hawkins Bill, I will limit myself to a few casual remarks. The reader will find the complete text and an interpretive interview with
Senator Humphrey in this issue. It will be evident that the bill called the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1976 is the most consequential social legislation to come along since the Employment Act of 1946. The bill is a plan for planning, and first of all, for planning full employment without inflation. It is a large generalization about the objectives of this country and how to reach them. If it becomes law, we will, in effect, have reached agree ment on an experiment and a compact that will take us on a long journey into uncharted territory. This will give economists plenty to do even though they may think the doing of it is impossible.
