| Steve Clark |
Coming out of this economic recession, we’re hearing a lot of talk about restarting “growth.” But strategically, it’s crucial to stop promoting growth as a thing in itself. We need to employ everyone, but not in the same way that has brought us to the brink of climate change disaster. We need to refocus production and investment in sustainable enterprise, but what about all the working people who need jobs in the meantime? For instance, fracking is way down now; do we want its revival? What is a former fracking worker to do while jobs in the new economy still don’t exist? As this piece in Foreign Policy points out, a Job Guarantee (JG) would immediately solve this problem… as any worker without a job would be entitled to one funded by the government (at $15/hr with benefits) until the private sector is able and willing to hire her. Instead of climate-destroying jobs in the old economy, a JG can provide useful, caring jobs and stability to families and the economy while we make the structural changes necessary to create a sustainable economy for everyone.
Read more: Foreign Policy – “Stimulus Is an Environmental Disaster Waiting to Happen”
Voices for New Democracy 