Podcasts about federal job guarantee

We're joined this month by William A.( “Sandy”) Darity to discuss reparations for Black Americans. Sandy Darity is Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics and the director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University. A founding theorist of stratification economics and foremost scholar of the racial wealth gap in the United Stats, Darity is perhaps best known for his committed public advocacy for acknowledging, redressing, and resolving histories of racist violence against enslaved black people and their descendents through a federal program of reparations for black Americans. In April 2020–just weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic and two months before the global uprisings that followed the murder of George Floyd–Darity and co-author Kirsten Mullen published the book From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the 21st Century. We speak with Professor Darity about this book–including its conception, reception, and circulation over the last few years. We also ask Darity about related projects like his proposals for “Baby Bonds” and a Federal Job Guarantee. We conclude, finally, by suggesting that the U.S. Treasury mint a $12 trillion-dollar platinum coin featuring prominent figures from the black freedom struggle for the purpose of financing reparations and educating the public about how money works. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/MoLsuperstructureMusic by Nahneen Kula: www.nahneenkula.com

Money on the Left speaks with Dr. Sonia Ivancic about the importance of regionally sensitive and affirmative storytelling in provisioning processes. Assistant Professor in organizational communication at University of South Florida, Dr. Ivancic is a community-engaged researcher, whose work on “place-based narrative labor” offers essential new tools for displacing prevailing scarcity logics and rhetorics of austerity with more capacious ways of thinking, arguing, and narrating. Through embedded fieldwork with non-profit, rural Appalachian food distributors, Professor Ivancic has developed astute critiques of the narrative frames used by some grant-making non-profits as they paradoxically seek to address privation and hunger in Appalachia by perpetually framing privation and hunger in Appalachia as the region's most salient and seemingly default characteristics. In place of this “deficit-driven” characterization–which, owing to the ways that such projects depend on the grant cycle, is nearly always the dominant kind of characterization–Dr. Ivancic identifies and promotes an “asset-driven” mode of place-based narrative labor. With this asset-based approach, the provisioning process affirmatively calls attention to and works to expand the capacities and potentials of a given community, honoring the dignity of particular communities, while opening political imaginaries to include new metrics for collective flourishing and renewal. In our conversation, we extend Ivancic's theorization of asset-driven place-based narrative labor to rethink the challenges and potentials of a Federal Job Guarantee under a future Green New Deal. We also draw rich parallels between her account of narrativity in local provisioning and conceptions of macro political economy in Modern Monetary Theory and other heterodox traditions in political economy. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/MoLsuperstructureMusic by Nahneen Kula: www.nahneenkula.com

Weekly roundup for June 26, 2021 Today we discuss how the federal system hinders progress in the Golden State. From economic growth to unemployment, from disaster relief to job creation, from health care to voting, California can do better. California can be better. NOTES: 1. "About Us", Red Star Report; https://redstarreport.com/about-us/ 2. Red Star Report YouTube channel; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsn4e5uimQQGu1sALUvjXcw 3. "California Defies Doom With No. 1 U.S. Economy", Bloomberg Opinion, June 14, 2021; https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-06-14/california-defies-doom-with-no-1-u-s-economy 4. "2021's Best & Worst State Economies", WalletHub.com, June 7, 2021; https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-economies/21697 5. "CDC extends eviction moratorium a month, says it's last time", Associated Press, June 24, 2021; https://apnews.com/article/eviction-ban-extended-biden-coronavirus-9e7c4dc97c49cbb42a1ecb55b06e3b4c 6. "Governor Newsom, Legislative Leaders Announce Eviction Moratorium Extension, Increased Compensation for Rent Relief", Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, June 25, 2021; https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/06/25/governor-newsom-legislative-leaders-announce-eviction-moratorium-extension-increased-compensation-for-rent-relief/ 7. "Cash Now -- featuring Stephanie Kelton", Rumble with Michael Moore, March 22, 2020; https://anchor.fm/rumble-with-michael-moore/episodes/Ep--55-Cash-Now-feat--Stephanie-Kelton-ebpnhp 8. "March for Medicare For All" Twitter page; https://twitter.com/m4m4all?lang=en 9. "Guaranteed work: California commission calls for government jobs program after pandemic", Sacramento Bee, March 3, 2021; https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article249640183.html 10. "Ayanna Pressley's Federal Job Guarantee"; https://ayannapressley.com/issues/jobguarantee/ 11. "Stop the poison pills in HR 1", Green Party US, March 9, 2021; https://www.gp.org/hr_1 MUSIC CREDIT: "Angry Bass Line", by Adigold; elements.envato.com IMAGE CREDIT: Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign, public domain; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Medicare_for_all._car_magnet.jpg

Welcome to the IndependentLeft.News Daily Headlines podcast for January 5th, 2021. Early Edition - https://independentleft.news/?edition_id=1377cbb0-4f53-11eb-a9a9-002590a5ba2d&utm_source=anchor&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=top-headlines-podcast&utm_content=ILN-Anchor-top-headlines-podcast-early-ed-01-05 Top Headlines: Trump's call was despicable. But was it criminal? - Judd Legum, Popular Information FinCEN Files data team shares tools, tips and songs that inspire - ICIJ Shareholders Claim SolarWinds Failed to Disclose Info About Massive Hack - David Lee, Courthouse News Biden Shift Shows Pressure Can Work - David Sirota, Andrew Perez & Walker Bragman, The Daily Poster “Nobody” Hurt, “Just a Perp,” Say Officers After NYPD Shot and Killed Man in His Own Home - Eric Umansky, ProPublica Top Videos: Julian Assange, #FraudSquad, And Progressive Republicans? (1:16:41) - The Kim Iversen Show #Squad's Pelosi Cave is 'INDEFENSIBLE' - Very Sweet & Pro Squad Wonk Breaks Down Vote (15:50) - The Katie Halper Show Trump Urges Georgia Official to "Find" Votes For Him, Then Claim They've "Recalculated" (12:00) - The Humanist Report #FraudSquad (33:05) - The Jimmy Dore Show Leveling the Playing Field with a Federal Job Guarantee (29:18) - Real Progressives Evening Edition - https://independentleft.news/?edition_id=a78edfa0-4fb7-11eb-a9a9-002590a5ba2d&utm_source=anchor&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=top-headlines-podcast&utm_content=ILN-Anchor-top-headlines-podcast-evening-ed-01-05 Top Headlines: Workers Resist Pandemic-Era Disaster Capitalism in Ecuador - Kimberley Brown, InTheseTimes No Charges for Kenosha Cops Who Shot Jacob Blake - Scott Cooper, Left Voice The Infrastructure Of Impunity - David Sirota, The Daily Poster 'You Alone Have the Power to Temper Justice With Mercy': Trump Urged to Stop Execution of Lisa Montgomery - Julia Conley, CommonDreams Scotland' Head of Government Says Trump Cannot Visit During Biden's Inauguration - Chris Walker, Truthout Top Videos: Inside Trump's outgoing federal execution spree (27:51) - w/ Geogre Hale, Pushback with Aaron Mate, The Grayzone Jackson Hinkle at the Force The Vote rally in DC 1/4/21. (3:24) - The Convo Couch Biden's Black Appointee Creates Office Of White Conservative Outreach w/ Briahna Joy Gray, Leslie Lee III, Trevor Beaulieu & Edward Ongwesso (9:19) - The Katie Halper Show Franc Analysis at the Force The Vote rally in DC 1/4/21 (3:03) - The Convo Couch Boutique Left Attacks Jimmy Dore and #ForceTheVote (31:44) - Richard Medhurst If you liked this podcast, please help us grow by subscribing & giving us a 5-star review on your favorite podcasting platform. For more content, you can follow Independent Left News on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram @indleftnews & subscribe to our YouTube channel.

In part one of this three part series, we will look at how neoliberal policies have only led to the exploitation of the working class. The case being made here isn't a Democrat or Republican argument. These three episodes will provide three policies (federal job guarantee, baby bonds, reparations)  that transcend political parties to raise up those who have been left behind.  In FDR's 1944 State of the Union Address, he observed that "needful men are not free men. Those who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictators are made." FDR saw that full citizenship demanded more than political rights, but required economic rights, most importantly the right to a useful job. More so now than ever before this need for a right to a secure, well paying job is essential. A Federal Job Guarantee is one major policy that not only helps those left behind, but helps transition our economy into a new green century.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/inthemoodeforrealhistory/support

The full audio from the Cowboy Economist video #08: Why we need a Federal Job Guarantee. Here is the link to the full vidoe For links to the full audio of all other parts, go to part one. With thanks to John Harvey.

The full audio from the Cowboy Economist video #08: Why we need a Federal Job Guarantee. Here is the link to the For links to the full audio of all other parts, go to . With thanks to .

The full audio from the Cowboy Economist video #01: : How to tell if someone is a socialist! Here is the link to the full video Links to the full audio of all other parts (released so far) (Note that videos only applicable to the time they were recorded (such as for the 2020 Democratic primaries) are not included.) Full audio: Cowboy Economist #02: How the private sector finances its deficits. Full audio: Cowboy Economist #03: How the government finances its deficits. Full audio: Cowboy Economist #04. The Green New Deal: what is it and do we actually need it? Full audio: Cowboy Economist #05: Look out, Communism!!! Full audio: Cowboy Economist #06: How the American People (could not possibly have) Financed World War Two! Full audio: Cowboy Economist #07: Why Social Security can't go bankrupt! Full audio: Cowboy Economist #08: Why we need a Federal Job Guarantee. Full audio: Cowboy Economist #11: Printing money does not cause inflation! With thanks to John Harvey.

This week we welcome Richard Dien Winfield, a rare candidate for national office who is running on the Federal Job Guarantee and Medicare for All. It’s no surprise, then, that Richard is fully onboard with Modern Monetary Theory and spoke at the MMT Conference in Stonybrook last September. Steve talks with him about his new book, Democracy Unchained: How We Should Fulfill Our Social Rights and Save Self-Government, and the platform for his current campaign. Richard is running in Georgia’s special election for the US Senate. His campaign is founded on correcting the failure to recognize and enforce our social rights, which he sees as the key to remedy blockages of opportunity that hobble our democracy. Throughout this interview, he frequently returns to the concept of social rights as the rights that are not in our constitution but should be. These include the right to a decent livelihood, healthcare, education at all levels, the right to balance work and family, and to level the playing field between employer and employee. Martin Luther King said that without a job and income, one can have neither life, liberty, nor the opportunity to pursue happiness. Richard eloquently connects the dots between our social rights, demonstrating their interdependence. How can you solve homelessness without a job guarantee, which will require a higher minimum wage than the $15-an-hour we normally hear about. The job guarantee would, of course, include full benefits of pension and healthcare -- though we wouldn’t need the latter if we had Medicare for All, which is another necessary social right: without health, we can’t exercise our freedoms. There are two exacerbating factors disempowering employees. The first is globalization and free trade, due to the ease with which companies can find the lowest wages and relocate. The second factor is the rise of the gig economy. Employers can use technological advancements so that workers are on their own and scattered around the globe; the employer doesn’t have to provide overhead or face worker solidarity. Richard describes the UBI as setting up a 2-tiered society: those condemned to the poverty income of the UBI alone, and those who receive the UBI plus wages from their jobs. Instead of eliminating economic disadvantage, it sanctions it. Considering the threat of fascism, we look again to an FJG. For all the praise given to the social democracies of northern Europe, the fact that they don't have a job guarantee has left them vulnerable to the kind of xenophobia and bigotry that has caused workers in other countries to vote for extreme right-wingers. When there aren't enough jobs, a wave of immigrants is seen as a threat. Universal healthcare and generous unemployment insurance do not replace the need for jobs. Richard and Steve go through all the social rights in depth and, sometimes, from a new angle. Listeners will hear something they might not have considered about racism, sexual harassment, unionization, corporate compensation, reparations, the needs of families, and much more. Have you ever heard a candidate demanding legal care for all? Listen to the episode! Richard Dien Winfield is an American philosopher and Distinguished Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of Georgia. He has supported striking workers, organized sugarcane laborers, and joined unionizing efforts at UGA. Winfield was a candidate for U.S. Representative from Georgia's 10th Congressional District in 2018 and has declared his candidacy for the 2020 United States Senate special election in Georgia. WinfieldforSenate.com @WinfieldForUS on Twitter https://bookshop.org/books/democracy-unchained-how-we-should-fulfill-our-social-rights-and-save-self-government/9781950794133 Find his books on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Dien-Winfield/e/B001HP3FH2?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000

If any of our listeners aren’t following The Funky Academic on his website, YouTube, or Twitter, this episode will change all that. Macro n Cheese usually leans heavily towards economics, but Irami Osei-Frimpong arrives at many of the same conclusions that we do, yet gets there by a different route. That helps make this such an interesting interview. In these disturbing times, his strong sense of humor and irony are a welcome respite. Irami is a PhD student in philosophy, which he chose to study because, as an undergraduate, he realized that people are confused about what justice looks like. In a liberal democracy, there’s no need for a minister of propaganda; our thinking is controlled by what is omitted from our education. He says we must know what we’re fighting for because if we’re merely guided by emotions or compassion, we can be easily confused and swayed. “You need actual arguments to ground you so you're not buffeted about when your latest crush is a Republican.” This is how we end up accepting that there’s a “natural” rate of unemployment, for example. The episode is full of astute observations about racism, economic insecurity, and the indisputable necessity of a Federal Job Guarantee. Alton Sterling was selling CDs from the trunk of his car, and Eric Gardner sold loose cigarettes. Imagine if they had guaranteed jobs that paid a dignified wage, which Irami maintains should be $22 an hour. We don’t want a living wage because we want to do more than just live. Irami draws lessons from history as much as from today’s headlines and he often ponders the concept of citizenship. How can we participate in the political process while dealing with unemployment? In a nation of laws, how can we exercise our rights as citizens if we can’t afford legal protection? He tells an anecdote about Hulk Hogan which illustrates why we need a single-payer legal system as much as we need single-payer healthcare. Steve and Irami discuss the marijuana business, reparations for African-Americans, and unprovoked police shootings. While the interview is laced with humor, the themes and implications are dead serious. Irami Osei-Frimpong is a PhD student in Philosophy at the University of Georgia. Check out his website: funkyacademic.com @IramiOF on Twitter

A federal job guarantee is an old idea making its way back this election cycle. It's controversial and considered radical—but what makes more sense than making sure that everyone who needs a job can get one? A job guarantee would bring financial stability to millions of families. And it would put people to work doing things the nation needs, such as building affordable housing and caring for children. In this episode, Angela Glover Blackwell explores the tantalizing possibilities—and the feasibility—of a federal job guarantee with one of its leading advocates, Darrick Hamilton, Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University.

Our guest is the OG of MMT. Listeners always appreciate Warren Mosler’s ability to slice through to the clear and practical fiscal implication of any policy consideration. Today he talks to Steve about the deflationary bias of Medicare for All, the countercyclical effects of a federal job guarantee, how to apportion the resources that will be freed up by M4A, and why it makes sense to replace the income tax with some kind of asset tax.     You don’t need a degree in economics to understand why expanding Medicare’s coverage from age 65 to age zero will result in an immediate reduction in overall spending on healthcare. Warren estimates $600 billion in savings. Meanwhile at least 5 million jobs will be lost. Economists call it a massive “positive productivity shock.” Whenever you can produce the same amount of goods or services for less money, it’s good for the economy, despite the job loss. Now those people can be deployed for something more useful than the advertising, marketing, and administrative tasks of private insurance companies.     With M4A, the costs for private firms drop because they’re no longer buying medical coverage for their employees. This is another good thing. There’s no sensible reason for the cost of healthcare to be built into the cost of products; business expenses go down substantially, putting downward pressure on prices. It’s a deflationary event.     The two things described above - increased unemployment and downward pressure on prices - work together to reduce inflation. As Warren says, “when you have that kind of impulse you don’t raise taxes or cut spending to offset it. That’s nonsensical. It just makes it worse.”     Eventually moving to M4A could have inflationary effects, but Warren explains the importance of timing. We have to think about what happens on “day one.” People and firms will have more money in their pockets because they don’t have to buy healthcare. Ultimately they’ll begin spending some of it. Increased consumer demand will cause prices to rise; corporations might increase production. But these effects don’t play out immediately. So, again, it’s ridiculous to start with a huge tax to offset the inflation that hasn’t yet occurred. There will be time to decide what’s needed.     In light of the number of people who will become unemployed from M4A, Steve asks whether it makes more sense to have the Federal Job Guarantee in place first. This leads to a broader discussion of the FJG. Warren compares it to the joke that says, to avoid being eaten “I don’t have to outrun the bear; I only have to outrun you.” The FJG doesn’t have to be perfect; it only has to be better than unemployment. There are no economic criteria where it's worse than unemployment, so even if it's merely equal, economically, we should do it because by every other measure it's superior.     Mosler has always maintained that it must be transitional, while some MMT proponents see it as a chance to expand the public sector workforce, including within a Green New Deal. Despite some disagreements, the conversation has brought MMT awareness into the mainstream. This is a huge plus.     Once we get past the household analogy for the federal budget we can begin determining priorities for allocating resources, including labor. The US needs less than 1% of the population to grow all the food and 7% for manufacturing. Our productivity gains give us the luxury of allowing more time to be spent taking care of each other - with education, research, healthcare, and infrastructure, for example. In assessing the value of government expenditure, we aren’t limited to old notions of productivity. Solar energy requires more man-hours to produce than an equal amount of energy from coal, but that’s no reason to continue using coal. When planning for the public purpose we can take the greater good into account.     Warren Mosler’s books are available on his website: http://moslereconomics.com/    @wbmosler on Twitter

The mainstream media has created a pasteurized and homogenized version of Martin Luther King, Jr, befitting the neoliberal cultural bell jar. That being said, our friend Mathew Forstater reminds us that Dr King had a laser-like focus on economics and unemployment. The massively successful August 1963 march was called The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for a reason. Without economic security, the social and political advances of the civil rights movement cannot take hold. Steve kicks off the interview by asking Mat to speak about MLK in the context of today’s debate about a Universal Basic Income versus the Federal Job Guarantee. Dr King and other civil rights leaders promoted an economic bill of rights that was specifically and intentionally not a UBI. The three-part platform demanded a job for anyone willing to work, an income guarantee for those who cannot work, and a raise in the minimum wage sufficient to lift the working poor out of poverty. All three prongs are necessary -- a job guarantee alone doesn’t help those who cannot work; raising the minimum wage doesn’t help the working poor. Dr King’s vision of a job guarantee encompasses four vital components:     1. The development of education and skills must be outcomes of the program and not prerequisites. Rather than being trained for nonexistent jobs, people are to be hired first and trained while they’re being paid.     2. Any jobs should produce community services -- the public and social services that are in short supply and benefit the neediest communities. Labor is directed to our most pressing demands, including environmental and social justice.     3. The program generates income for families that have unmet basic needs. There must be an improvement in basic standards.     4. Acknowledge that there are numerous psychological and social benefits for individuals, families, communities, and the nation as a whole. This is based on MLK's recognition of the social and economic costs of unemployment. Research outside the field of economics (anthropology, social psychology, sociology) confirms the importance of work. In contrast, a UBI provides no development of skills and no production of public services to benefit the community. In a UBI only the income piece is addressed. Supporters of the UBI tend to look at work or human labor not as it was meant to be -- a pursuit of one’s life mission. They're looking at dead-end low-paying jobs with horrible working conditions. It's understandable that they would oppose that kind of work. We have always distinguished our version of a job guarantee from draconian workfare -- the kind that forces welfare mothers to take underpaid jobs where they'll develop no skills or knowledge. Our plan is built around the understanding that people enjoy contributing, working with others, and developing their talents. For models, we look to successful programs of the past like the WPA, CCC, and Argentina’s Plan Jefes. In the rest of the interview, Mat explains that Dr King was not alone in advocating for a JG. He talks about the history of the Humphrey-Hawkins Act, which was originally intended as full-employment legislation but ultimately was gutted. From 1946 to 1978 virtually every major African American leader and organization came out for full employment, including James Farmer of CORE, Bayard Rustin of the AFL-CIO’s A. Philip Randolph Institute, and Oliver C. Cox, who wrote a number of Marxist critiques of capitalism. The second demand of the Black Panther Party’s 10 Point Program was that the government provide “full employment for our people.” We know our Macro n Cheese audience will appreciate this fascinating history of the intersection of the civil rights movement and the ongoing fight for a Federal Job Guarantee. Mathew Forstater is a Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and Research Director at the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity. http://www.global-isp.org/research-director/ @mattybram on Twitter

A federal job guarantee is an old idea making its way back this election cycle. It’s controversial and considered radical—but what makes more sense than making sure that everyone who needs a job can get one? A job guarantee would bring financial stability to millions of families. And it would put people to work doing things the nation needs, such as building affordable housing and caring for children. In this episode, Angela Glover Blackwell explores the tantalizing possibilities—and the feasibility—of a federal job guarantee with one of its leading advocates, Darrick Hamilton, Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University.

“How do you pay for The Green New Deal?” is a serious question in today’s political environs -- though as Nathan Tankus clarifies, not for the reasons you might think. In Part 3 of his interview with Steve Grumbine, he recognizes that MMT and the US Bond market don’t finance spending in financial terms but shows us how non-fiscal “pay-fors” can give the US economy resource room to reallocate workers and energy through financial and environmental regulation. This can be accomplished without interest rate management and raising taxes to appease those who still believe the US is constrained by debt.   The Green New Deal and a Job Guarantee will make it possible to identify which areas in the US need more resources allocated to them simply by analyzing how many citizens sign up for the program. While the state of the US economy is oft described as a whole, the number of people entering the job guarantee program can show what counties are affected more by poverty and unemployment and allow them to remain in their home regions rather than flock to major urban centers to seek employment.   He also notes that the largest American cities are coastal and would be first affected by the rising waters due to climate change. Rather than drive people to those regions, we should be planning escape routes when those cities become uninhabitable. Describing a recent video narrated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nathan points out how an army of workers is going to be needed to help rebuild areas that are destroyed by natural or man-made disasters.   Using the example of how Syria endured years of drought which drove rural workers to city centers to find work, Nathan shows us how many poor & unemployed young people are now basically housed in prisons and argues that they should be emptied, primarily for moral reasons, but also to increase the productive capabilities of the United States. He cites the example of inmates being utilized as (unpaid) firefighters in California to show that we already do this to a limited extent and in an immoral way.   The remainder of the interview deals with Balance of Payments. Nathan explains that countries can have either a balance of payments deficit or surplus, depending on outflows such as payments for exports, interest payments and dividend payments netted with payment inflows. The addition of all balances of payments from all countries will, therefore, theoretically be zero. Monetary Sovereignty is a spectrum. Most countries in the world pay globally in US dollars because the large sums of debts and treaty obligations are denominated in dollars -- which in turn lead to exports and imports "invoiced" in dollars, which prevents countries from using their own currencies in payments. Thus, dollar exchange rates and interest rates are very important.   Nathan and Steve then examine the concept of the International currency hierarchy and the two elements that determine a country’s standing: Financial Strength and Physical Resources. A country can have a large current account deficit and a pegged currency but be rich in physical resources -- and be in equal or better standing than a country with a current account surplus and full monetary sovereignty but with few physical resources.   In closing, Nathan compares how US states have current account positions with one another, similar to those between Eurozone states. However, understanding this relationship is difficult because no records have been kept - and the data could be distorted to criticize states with large deficits as lazy or delinquent, simply because they have fewer jobs or lower incomes. Such data could be used by ‘bad actors’ who wish to divide people based on race.   Armed with this information, America could do some amazing things using the Green New Deal and the Federal Job Guarantee   Nathan Tankus is Research Director at Modern Money Network.   @NathanTankus on Twitter

Public banking is a hot topic in progressive circles. We at Macro n Cheese support it as long as it serves the public purpose, but not all visions of public banking are equal. Luckily, we have Nathan Tankus to help us navigate the shoals. In this second episode of a three-part series, Nathan begins by addressing the overall question of banks as public institutions. All banks, whether private, public, or democratic cooperatives, are given government charters and must abide by regulations. There may be similarities in the structure of governance, but when it comes to incentives, they are very different creatures. Nathan compares the different kinds of banks, including China’s state-owned banking system and looks at possibilities for regulations and services. Steve brings up proposals for infrastructure banks and the concept of financing public spending through a network of public banks. Some of these ideas don’t necessarily jibe with the MMT perspective; Nathan, Raul Carrillo and Andres Bernal recently wrote an article in Business Insider making the case that the federal government must pay for the Green New Deal. Full stop. The power of the federal purse is far superior to public-private partnerships or, worse, nudging the private sector to finance local public projects. Public banks can and should provide much-needed services -- at present, state and local governments keep their funds in, and make payments through, private banks that charge astronomical fees for the privilege. (We’re looking at you, Wells Fargo.) Nathan explains what it means to be “unbanked” or “underbanked,” as with individuals and communities who are denied services by the private banking industry. Much of this is taken for granted by those who have always had access. Banks provide a place to cash a check or receive automatic deposits from one’s employer, not to mention mortgages and car loans. In the US, the poor are crowded out of the banks and pushed towards predatory actors like check-cashing and payday lenders -- the high cost of poverty. Public and postal banks would provide normal banking services for those who are traditionally excluded. Nathan suggests that rather than simply making loans, public banks should award grants and emergency funds to individuals. In the second half of the episode, Steve and Nathan turn to a positive vision of the future. Steve refers to the combination of the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, a Federal Job Guarantee and a universal right to housing as an end-to-end, 360-degree plan to address inequality. Nathan looks at different aspects of each and how they are interconnected. For example, right now people migrate to a handful of metropolitan areas because that’s where they can find employment. With the job guarantee, previously abandoned communities can be revitalized, housing can be refurbished and retrofitted, and choices can be made based on preference rather than necessity. Nathan points out that a minimum wage is a leaky wage floor; it’s meaningless for those who don’t have a job. The FJG provides a true floor, forcing employers to compete with wages and benefits. Creating a “just transition” for unemployed coal miners will require more than FJG jobs. With the other social insurance in place, compensation will more nearly approximate their lost salaries. They will need childcare, supplemental income through an expanded Social Security or basic income, affordable housing, and free education. In the heat of this presidential campaign season, candidates are competing for our attention with complicated proposals. After listening to this episode you’ll be equipped to unpack their promises and assess them through a true MMT lens. https://www.businessinsider.com/green-new-deal-climate-change-government-spending-no-private-money-2019-9 Nathan Tankus is Research Director at Modern Money Network. @NathanTankus on Twitter

Why are most Americans working 2-3 jobs and still struggling to survive, and most without benefits? Dr. William "Sandy" Darity of Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy discusses (as a Professor of Economics) the meaning of "Employment" and measures today's measures of "Employment." He points out that the income inequality and wealth disparity in this country continues to widen and worsen.  Dr. Darity points out that a Federal Job Guarantee program would address this problem by guaranteeing quality jobs to individuals - which are defined by benefits and appropriate salaries. He clearly outlined that Blacks in American suffer two to three times as much as their white counterparts in terms of pay disparity and suffer from the worst wealth inequality. Dr. Darity pointed out many specifics of such a program that would address our increasing gap between the "have's" and "have nots."  I presented that as a professor of peace & conflict studies, the existence of poverty and as a result a difficulty to survive or thrive is the largest cause of conflict and terrorism.

Now we understand MMT, and have a model for sustaining our existence, what can we do to bring more people up from unemployment and poverty? A Federal Job Guarantee is designed to ensure everyone who can work and is willing, will have a job. Steven Hail, a Doctor of Economics from the University of Adelaide joins Tim and David in the studio to explain. If you're interested in some of these ideas, please consider coming to the conference in Adelaide in January 2020. If you have any thoughts, questions, or want to present your argument, contact us and send us an audio clip at timwhiffen@auscastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now we understand MMT, and have a model for sustaining our existence, what can we do to bring more people up from unemployment and poverty? A Federal Job Guarantee is designed to ensure everyone who can work and is willing, will have a job. Steven Hail, a Doctor of Economics from the University of Adelaide joins Tim and David in the studio to explain. If you're interested in some of these ideas, please consider coming to the conference in Adelaide in January 2020. If you have any thoughts, questions, or want to present your argument, contact us and send us an audio clip at timwhiffen@auscastnetwork.com Support the show.

Trump keeps telling us that unemployment is at an all-time low. Even if that were true, it wouldn’t stay that way. As our guest Scott Fullwiler explains, the private sector isn’t about creating jobs; it’s about profitability. So even if there were enough jobs for everybody who wants one, it would be a coincidence. And how can we design an economic policy around a coincidence?  In this special interview with host Steve Grumbine, Fullwiler says that we have a choice whether to have a buffer stock of the involuntarily unemployed or a buffer stock of the employed. He says that this is one of the revelations in Randall Wray’s seminal 1998 book, Understanding Modern Money: The Key to Full Employment and Price Stability. Another revolutionary concept was that the central bank is about interest rates, not the money supply, while government deficits are about money, not interest rates.     In a wide ranging conversation, Grumbine and Fullwiler revisit some of the key moments in MMT history -- what Fullwiler calls the “hockey stick moments” -- including Dr. Stephanie Kelton’s position as Chief Economist on the Senate Budget Committee, and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s public utterance of the phrase “Modern Monetary Theory.” As we all remember, after this was reported it was referred to in one article after another, carrying MMT, in name at least, into the public square.   Grumbine brings up the ongoing conflict between supporters of the Federal Job Guarantee and a Universal Basic Income. Fullwiler insists the two are not in competition. And because the UBI doesn’t have a solution for the guy who still wants to work but doesn’t have a job, we’re back at square one, with the choice of having an unemployed buffer stock or an employed buffer stock.    Professor Scott Fullwiler is in UMKC’s interdisciplinary program and a Research Scholar at the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity    Follow him on Twitter @stf18   https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/03/01/1551434402000/An-MMT-response-on-what-causes-inflation/   http://www.global-isp.org/scott-fullwiler/

Pavlina Tcherneva has been studying and writing about the Federal Job Guarantee since long before most of us had heard of the concept. In this episode she gives us all the ammunition we need to demand it.

Who better to explain the Federal Job Guarantee than Pavlina Tcherneva, who wrote her first paper on the subject in 1996, when it was called the Employer of Last Resort? This was at the height of the Clinton “Goldilocks economy,” which boasted of full employment. Needless to say, the ELR did not capture the popular imagination. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, the conversation has shifted. The FJG is getting noticed. With the campaign season heating up, we are re-releasing this interview from 2018, in which Tcherneva talks about her newest working paper. She talks to Steve about the wide-ranging effects of chronic unemployment and defines the essential components of the solution.   The Job Guarantee is not just a policy for full employment, but for structural reform. It takes on macroeconomic, socio-economic, and labor market problems and shifts the paradigm for stabilization. We have a choice: we can stabilize the economy with a pool of unemployed workers, or it can be stabilized with a pool of the employed. The public sector is the only one that can serve this countercyclical function, through the power of the public purse.   Tcherneva points out that the government has price supports for commodities like dairy, soybeans and corn. The most important commodity is neglected: Wage labor. She reminds us that economists, going back to Adam Smith, have always recognized that labor is a special input of production -- unlike machinery, factories, or raw material. Labor is the one commodity that reproduces the economy and the social reality. Yet it is the one commodity that is not supported by public policy.   Now that the Job Guarantee has come out of the closet, there are plenty of distorted, diminished proposals that miss the mark. According to Tcherneva there are three essential components for a Job Guarantee that will serve its full macroeconomic function: 1. It must be a permanent program 2. It must be universal 3. It must establish a wage floor   The wonks in our audience will appreciate the discussion of the JG as a preventive program, going much farther than merely preventing unemployment. It will prevent crashes in the labor market and the collapse of aggregate demand. There’s a marked difference in the way workers spend into the economy when they’re receiving unemployment insurance versus when they have guaranteed employment, even at a minimum wage. It’s the difference between retrenchment and full economic engagement. The less wonky will be grateful for Tcherneva’s clear, direct illustration of these concepts.   This interview covers a wide range of related issues, from the three most common arguments against the Job Guarantee, to the faux Keynesians, serving up crank schemes for economic growth. After listening to this episode you will be armed and ready for the onslaught of lies and misconceptions the candidates will be slinging.   https://www.pavlina-tcherneva.net/ Twitter @ptcherneva

The first MMT song ever? ‪The... very model of a Modern Monetary Thee-o-ry.‬ ‪Where all fed spending’s always paid for with created currency.‬ ‪Which logically extends that taxes cannot pay for anything.‬ Yet taxes are important they impose morality They also con-trol inflation And of course they drive the currency. The... federal-ah government does not care about mo-ney. They only care about the resources they have domestically. They provision themselves by making people do all that it needs. Then pay them money Which the people can do with it As they please And this is what we lovingly call De-bt-fr-ee sa-vings. The... central bank creates currency using a computer. They give the ba-nks more reserves my making numbers bi-gger. Reserves to banks are just like bank accounts to me and you-er. But for us ou-r banks are in our town next to the sewer. We must pay taxes or our things will all be confiscated. And then if we still do not pay we'll be incarcerated. This is our fate, we don't create, we must get it from somewhere. Like from a job, or local mob, or beg or steal or credit card. We need a job to get some money, so we can pay taxes (2X) This is our fate we don't create, it's not that great, we've no choice in the matter. The very model of a Modern Monetary Theory. By Mosler, Mitchell, Wray, Fullwiler, and a-Kelton Stephanie, The Federal Job Guarantee and ZIRP are recommen-ded but otherwise it just describes. That's all that is intended (2X). Banks also create money but it's very different as you'll see. They're franchised by the government but what they make is not debt-free. If you don't pay them back your life will be infinite misery. It's private debt, if it's not met, it just keeps growing big-i-ly. The bills are due, what will we do? The debt collector'sp calling. I cannot pay, oh woh is may, my income keeps on falling. We need some full employment so we can tell our boss to go screw himself. (But really the Federal Job Guarantee is a permanent countercyclical automatic macroeconomic stabilizer for prices and wages by using a buffer stock of the employed to even out the business cycle thereby preventing the majority of inflation – ex-ante.) The very model of a Modern Monetary Theory. By Mosler, Mitchell, Wray, Fullwiler, and a-Kelton Stephanie, The Federal Job Guarantee and ZIRP are recommen-ded but otherwise it just describes. That's all that is intended (2X). --- This song was inspired by a heading in this article https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-03-07/modern-monetary-theory-mmt-fight-isn-t-just-academic Note that this was recorded with no instruments (I blew a starting note before the beginning of each verse), so it's somewhat pitchy. Here's an amazing performance of the original song (with cameos by Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64

In this episode of Macro n Cheese, Pavlina Tcherneva of Bard College, the Levy Economics Institute, and the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability (CFEPS) joins Steve Grumbine to talk about the prominent role of women in developing and promoting Modern Monetary Theory. As one of the leading architects of what is known as the Federal Job Guarantee, she explains how redefining work will liberate families as well as the marginalized.

In this episode of Macro n Cheese, Pavlina Tcherneva of Bard College, the Levy Economics Institute, and the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability (CFEPS) joins Steve Grumbine to talk about the prominent role of women in developing and promoting Modern Monetary Theory. As one of the leading architects of what is known as the Federal Job Guarantee, she explains how redefining work will liberate families as well as the marginalized. Now…. Enjoy the very next episode of Macro n Cheese! Special Thanks to Geoffrey Ginter for the excellent intro song! And of course special thanks to our guest Pavlina Tcherneva, the donors of Real Progressives and our excellent staff of volunteers.

In Episode 2 Nima of EconomicsJunkie.com and Dylan of the Volitional Science Network discuss Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), in particular the so called Federal Job Guarantee. Topics discussed: What is unemployment? Does the state have a responsibility to address it? Can such a program work in a libertarian small government? And who's going to pay for it all? References: Modern Money Theory: A Primer on Macroeconomics for Sovereign Monetary Systems, by L. Randall Wray (https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Money-Theory-Macroeconomics-Sovereign/dp/0230368891) Debt: The First 5,000 Years, by David Graeber (https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290) How Government Budget Surpluses Can Cause Economic Depressions (https://www.economicsjunkie.com/government-budget-surpluses-can-cause-economic-depressions/)

In Episode 2 Nima of EconomicsJunkie.com and Dylan of the Volitional Science Network discuss Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), in particular the so called Federal Job Guarantee. Topics discussed: What is unemployment? Does the state have a responsibility to address it? Can such a program work in a libertarian small government? And who's going to pay for it all? References:Modern Money Theory: A Primer on Macroeconomics for Sovereign Monetary Systems, by L. Randall Wray (https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Money-Theory-Macroeconomics-Sovereign/dp/0230368891) Debt: The First 5,000 Years, by David Graeber (https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290) How Government Budget Surpluses Can Cause Economic Depressions (https://www.economicsjunkie.com/government-budget-surpluses-can-cause-economic-depressions/)

Bad faith criticism of the Federal Job Guarantee, as validated by a truly progressive podcast, Best of the Left, and my response. The full story: http://citizensmedia.tv/2018/06/05/botlfjgubi

This week, David Kreutzer, a senior research fellow in Heritage’s Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, explains why guaranteeing all Americans a job is essentially another form of welfare. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brian & Marion talk to Professor Darrick Hamilton about the federal job guarantee proposal that he helped create, and about how we want our reparations. Brian also slips in an unnecessary dig at Indiana Jones for what must be the thousandth time. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/at-the-intersection/support

A conversation with Arnie Arnesen of New Hampshire Public Radio WNHN, on the benefits of the Federal Job Guarantee, and why it is...highly preferable...over it's supposed benign alternative, Universal Basic Income. Link to our article that Arnie and I discuss in this interview: https://citizensmedia.tv/2018/04/26/fjgvubi/ Link to original podcast on the website for The Attitude with Arne Arnesen: http://www.wnhnfm.org/the-attitude-with-arnie-arnesen-may-3-2018/

The Federal Job Guarantee - What Heresy is This? Dylan Moore of the Volitional Science Network and Nima Mahjour of EconomicsJunkie.com go over the basics of libertarian and Austrian thought on the role government plays in the economy. A philosophical analysis of negative and positive rights tells us that any time the government gets involved in PROVIDING something, it must be inherently oppressive because someone need merely demand it to create an obligation on the government to provide it, and the government must provide it by taking it from someone else. The Bill of Rights enshrined the concept of negative rights in the US Constitution. However... there's a weird one. The 6th Amendment. The government guarantees a right to a speedy trial. That sounds kind of like a positive right, doesn't it? (NOTE: Dylan totally said 4th Amendment in the video. Doh.) Libertarian philosophy argues: if the government causes the problem, then the government has to provide the solution. If the government arrests you (problem), it has to give you a means to deal with that arrest (speedy trial). Thus it doesn't fit the category of a positive right. ...but what happens if government causes the problem of requiring citizens to pay taxes with money? Nima and I discuss this problem in the video. Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290 How Government Surpluses Can Cause Economic Depressions: http://www.economicsjunkie.com/government-budget-surpluses-can-cause-economic-depressions/ Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NOsAawM9JAA

In this episode of Race and Wealth we have one of the leading researchers on race and wealth, Darrick Hamilton. Darrick Hamilton is the director of the doctoral program in public and urban policy, and jointly appointed as an associate professor of economics and urban policy at The Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy and the Department of Economics, The New School for Social Research at The New School in New York. Dedrick and Darrick spend some time talking about Darrick's Jacobin article, “Why we Need a Federal Job Guarantee” and how economic empowerment could help fix many issues around race & wealth. Take a listen!Please check out more of Darrick's work here:https://www.jacobinmag.com/author/mark-paul-and-william-darity-jr-and-darrick-hamilt/ http://ww1.insightcced.org/uploads/CRWG/Umbrellas-Dont-Make-It-Rain8.pdf http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/85341/2000986-2-the-color-of-wealth-in-the-nations-capital.pdfThe Color of Wealth in the Nation's Capital - urban.orgwww.urban.orgThe Duke Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity is a scholarly collaborative engaged in the study of the causes and consequences of inequality and in the ... Umbrellas Don't Make it Rain: Why Studying and Working ...ww1.insightcced.orgUmbrellas Don't Make it Rain: Why Studying and Working Hard Isn't Enough for Black Americans 1 Duke Center for Social Equity . About the Authors Mark Paul, William Darity Jr, & Darrick Hamilton | Jacobinwww.jacobinmag.comMark Paul, William Darity Jr, & Darrick Hamilton. Mark Paul is a postdoctoral associate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University and holds ...

Could we fight unemployment by providing government jobs in construction, child care, and other needed public projects? Professor William Darity explains how a Federal Job Guarantee could work and how similar programs have been effective in the past.   For More on this Topic: Check out his oped in The New York Times. Read his two-page brief, co-authored with Darrick Hamilton and Mark Paul.   Further Reading: Why Jobless Americans Experience Deep and Prolonged Distress, Cristobal Young, Stanford University, SSN Key Findings The Great Recession and America's Underemployment Crisis, Leif Jensen, Pennsylvania State University, Tim Slack, Louisiana State University, SSN Key Findings