Our Money: Now Is the Time to Push for a Job Guarantee

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Given the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the case for a Federal Jobs Guarantee (FJG) has become so robust that it may become possible to get it passed without an FJG proponent in the White House. The proposal boasted support of 78% of the public even before the pandemic. Now that the U.S. economy has suffered job losses, unseen since the Great Depression, the need for a job guarantee is all the more urgent. While President Trump rushes to re-open the economy, it is clear that merely re-opening will not suffice to restore levels of employment enjoyed prior to the crisis. Further, pressure to go back to work in the private sector amidst the pandemic risks increasing exposure to the virus, which could lead to a major and avoidable compounding of the death toll. A job guarantee offers a way to put the country back to work while accommodating the need to maintain social distancing as much as possible. Because the federal government is not bound by the need to turn a profit, as private sector businesses are, it has much more latitude to employ people in ways that allow for adequate social distancing.

Our Money founder, Dr. Delman Coates said, "this historic crisis is presenting us with a historic opportunity. While the support of 78% of the public should be enough to get an idea passed into law, under normal circumstances the fact is that it just isn't. But under the present circumstances, the need for this program is so overwhelmingly urgent that we might have a window of opportunity here." Dr. Coates also remarked that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden need look no further for a way to energize the youth and progressive wing of the Democratic Party, a constituency Biden has struggled to gain the support and enthusiasm of. "Not only is the job guarantee extremely popular, it is a cornerstone of the Green New Deal resolution. The youth vote that backed Senator Sanders in the primary would likely be far more receptive to former Vice President Biden's candidacy if he ran on a job guarantee."

About Our Money
Our Money is a campaign which seeks to popularize an understanding of the importance of our public power of money creation and demand that it be used on behalf of the public to the fullest extent responsible, rather than diverted towards private interests.

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Tomeka B. Scales, Ph.D.
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