how we could win [was Re: [lbo-talk] how Hillary could win]

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Thu Jul 20 08:41:21 PDT 2006


CB: How about a Constitutional Amendment for a right to a job ( for 'Mericans) ?

[WS:] looks good on paper, but easier said than done. First, as you will probably agree, all Constitutional amendments provide only "negative" freedoms i.e. freedom from government action of one sort or another (albeit some would argue that all freedoms are necessarily positive because they require enforcement i.e. they are de facto entitlements to be protected from the proscribed action).

The problem with the right to a job amendment is that it would not just proscribe certain activities, but it would also mandate certain activities (i.e. hiring) by some individuals. The main problem with that is who would exactly be required to perform such activities (in case of proscriptions it is not a problem as they apply to everyone). That is to say, if I were unemployed, would you have an obligation to hire me? And if not you, then who?

Another issue is that such right-to-work legislation could be used to undermine collective bargaining - as it historically has been the case in the right to work states as well as in planned economies of Eastern Europe. The rationale behind it was that once the right to work is legally guaranteed, workers' self organization has no longer any raison d'etre.

My take on this issue is that a better approach is to use fiscal policy *directly* to create full employment. In other words, instead of purchasing goods from private producers to boost demand and thus reduce unemployment, the government would directly hire any officially unemployed person who is otherwise unable to obtain a job on his/her own within a specified time period. That is to say, if I a register as unemployed and receive unemployment benefits for the specified time period (say, 6 month, as under the current system), at the end of that period one of the three things must necessarily happen: (i) I am gainfully employed through my own search and effort; if this fails (ii) the government must offer me a job (and training, if necessary) that I can realistically be expected to be qualified for and that pays a living wage, or if there are no jobs that I can realistically be expected to be qualified for (iii) I am certified as disabled and receive a pension.

Wojtek



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