Not without reservations but a model for the job guarantee programs that are
being floated and of course job guarantee programs have an a
relationship a very close relationship to MMT because we all know that in fact
even within the framework of a capitalist economy governments could
should they choose generate a near fully employed economy I'm not precisely sure
what full employment means so I'll just say nearly full employee anybody who
wants a job can get a job right and there's any number of papers that have
circulated any number of presentations discussions etc with the title something
like we need a new WPA all right everybody's familiar with that well I'm
going to put forward some let's say reservations about the WPA several of
which are not discussed in the JG or MMT literature right because I don't think
we I don't think we want a new WPA and you'll know why when I'm go through the
argument now a good deal of my criticisms are somewhat related to
Veblen's concept of the vested interests but also we have to talk a little bit
about Keynes and I'll bring in Hyman Minsky at a particular point now the
first thing I want to do is discuss very quickly the economic leadings of some of
the major figures in the roosevelt administration including Roosevelt
himself if you look at and professor sturgeon will appreciate this
Rexford Tugwell who was the institutionalists in the
administration individuals such as Carter glass of glass steagle the
Banking Act of 1933 and so on what you will find is that the terrifying
realization that I'm what what what you will find is that the leading figures of
the New Deal administration were balanced budget sound money men as they
called themselves okay Roosevelt came into office on a balanced
budget program in his first period he slashed government spending
including military spending interestingly enough and we know that in
1937 when the economy looked as if it might be recovering he reverted to his
balanced budget mantra again spending was slashed
including spending on the WPA and the result was the 1938 reversal right back
into a depression Roosevelt Tugwell others were also averse to
large-scale government projects work projects they saw these projects such as
the WPA they saw these projects as actually antagonistic to the economic
order and to the liberal ideology that dominated in the 1930 that is you didn't
want government activity to be associated with anything that was
remotely of a socialist nature and put socialists in quotation
marks or for that matter because you had criticisms from both the left and the
right or of a fascist nature because if you look at the Italian
program starting in the 1920s you say wait a minute that's like the WPA in
certain respects right now I don't want to straighten stretch that too far but
in any case they in the administration basically there was actually little
support for programs like the wpa wpa2 of the WPA in a bit now I'm not hostile
to the WPA right I could make a presentation all the great things that
the WPA accomplished but that's not my objective I want to speak to issues that
I think JG the job guarantee program adherence should pay attention to right
based upon the WPA program okay now WPA accomplished great deal infrastructure
like buildings of all sorts lots of post offices they love post offices and
you'll know why in a second right federal theater project federal arts
project federal music project federal writers prize it wasn't just building
post offices and schools and football stadiums right now
those cultural projects educational projects adult literacy programs and
things of that sort I would argue in the long run we're actually if not more more
important than the infrastructure the construction of buildings and
what-have-you they were at least as important and if
you look at the federal theater project in particular under highly Flanagan that
was the most radical aspect of the works project Progress Administration the WPA
that's where you saw challenges to capitalism put forward in the theater
and that's where you saw it I'm coming back to this the only anti-racist
program within the New Deal administration if you leave Eleanor
Roosevelt aside because she was not a racist right but she wasn't an organizer
of the WPA okay I remind you that Kings right even while he was participating in
the fight against the German military machine in World War two he agreed to
chair the council for the encouragement of music and the arts which was
organized in 1940 right in England he was very keen on the arts and he saw
that as a an integral important aspect of the modern economic and social order
okay now prior to the WPA the Roosevelt administration organized the Civil Works
Administration the CWA right organized in November 1933 under
the directorship of Harry Hopkins ended in April of 1934 right but essentially
ended or began to end in February 1934 to active months of existence that's all
right that's all right now this is the first time that the government served as
what Keynes labeled the entrepreneurs in chief right where the government took an
active role in organizing aspects of the economy that's Keynes references
entrepreneurs it's actually Hubert Henderson's terms but forget that a very
successful program in the first month it employed two million unemployed at its
peak in mid January 1934 four million had been put on the federal payroll in
its short existence 250 thousand miles of roads were built or improved 12
million feet of sewer line laid that's very
given the United States of the day school buildings constructed renovated
playgrounds hospitals etc 50,000 teachers were hired to teach adult
education classes the list is long and it's very impressive two months of
active existence secondly wages were paid at prevailing rates with a minimum
wage specified way wages vary based upon skills and region etc black and white
workers were paid the same wage okay keep bear that in mind alright let's go
administrators of the CWA established a catalogue of skills and attempted to
match skills with the jobs at hand right now the question is the CWA was
extremely impressive actually given two months of existence and the first such
project that the government undertook why was it canceled very quickly why was
it canceled well the first problem with the CWA was that it was an emergency
program lots of most of the New Deal programs were emergency right let me
quote the National Resources Planning Board which we could talk about at
length if we chose but we don't National Resources Planning Board the emergency
nature of the New Deal programs proved problematic and stabilizing employment a
series of emergency programs the public works construction may be self-defeating
and achieving the aim of employment stabilization throughout the entire
period discussed there was no definitely continuing policy to guide the planners
administrators of federal state local government each program was said it as
if it were the last now if you go to canes Pavlina
oh she's doing something else Pavlina turn it turn it there oh oh you're here
I thought you were okay Pavlina has a paper of 2012 or whatever where she
brings in Keynes's on-the-spot Employment Program this is very similar
to Hyman Minsky taking workers as they are a continuing program right not an
emergency program not a temporary now of course
jg adherents want a continuing program but it's very important that that be
built into the economy as whole forget about pump priming they neoclassical
version of canes or anything of that sort it's so anyway there's there's a
whole lot of things one could say about the CD why was it canceled so quickly
roosevelt program roosevelt administration never had any intent to
implement programs that would conflict with or at least so they as they saw it
the capitalist economy basically or capitalist interests right business
interest get the economy moving and then stand back get out of the way that was
the eye that was the objective roosevelt the hopkins on the CWA we must be
careful it does not become a habit with this country government employment we
must not take the position that we are going to have permanent depression in
this country and it is very important that we have somebody to say quite
forcefully that's quite forcefully to these people right so anyway objections
to the CWA this is interesting you would you might expect the business community
to have objections to the CWA because they were hiring unemployed workers the
fear was that this would drive up wages for all workers right your pool of the
reserve army is diminishing maybe wages are going to rise cost of
production going to rise that's understandable the AF of L which was the
leading labor organization at the time right also objected because they thought
that the program is going to drive wages down right now this raises a question
that I have never thought about until about three months ago to
to go bang why aren't labor unions pushing for a job guarantee program why
haven't they in the past you know I I don't have an answer it's not a
rhetorical question or anything but I think it should be addressed what is the
issue with labor unions okay now how much time do I have
good ok now go to the WPA finally okay major shortcomings right first of all
limited in scope emergency etc emergency measure right Harry Hopkins I quote the
director of the WPA policy from the first was not to compete with private
business hence we could neither work on private
property set up a rival merchandising system nor form a work outlet through
manufacturing even though manufacturing had contributed to relief rules hundreds
of thousands of workers accustomed to operating machines and to doing nothing
else for a living ok so you don't want to be in
competition with the private sector right so you gotta find stuff that is
non competitive right so what do you do well you build buildings you construct
roads you construct hospitals you set up medical programs you set up the federal
theater project you set up etc etc etc fine well and good of the 3,000
structures that were built under WP auspices 1400 were post offices ask why
right and the bulk of the remainder were school buildings it's perfectly
reasonable that school buildings right but I ask why post offices well
non-competitive right the post office is a government program right so you need
buildings in which males can be deposited and moved along right market
wages the program WPA did prove pay market wages but in the South market
wages for blacks and whites in particular in the South were
significantly different in other words the wage policy of the WPA maintained
the racist relationships within the labor market right it goes beyond that
okay I want to talk a little bit about the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933
the Agricultural Adjustment Act which Professor surgeon knows a lot about
actually because he's a farmer the AAA right in the south at the time South was
segregated oh maybe I don't know how many people are familiar with US history
it was segregated by law right by law this is the Jim Crow system this is that
part ID right okay the large farmers in the south dependent upon mainly tenant
farming and sharecropping and the bulk of the sharecroppers in particular were
black okay now did the AAA touch the segregationist agricultural system in
the South thing the answer is no tenant farmers sharecroppers and farm labor in
general were excluded from the Agricultural Adjustment Act and the
fairly fair wage for Labor Standards Act of 1937 down the road there was not one
civil rights program contained within the New Deal in other words here's a
problem right I'll make it a very general issue
Jadey programs have to be mindful that any such program is going to have to be
implemented within the framework of the existing social order right the social
order in the United States is still of a racist nature you may not be as Extreme
as that of the 1930s but it's still racist and of course over the last
couple of years that has become increased
we prominent again racism or an anti-racist program has to be included
in the jobs guaranteed program right not just anti-racist gender issues Oh
environmental issues I think that djg the adherents of course are aware of the
environmental issues I don't hear much about racism I don't hear much about
gender issues but if you're going to do something that's more substantial than
just providing jobs those issues have to be included I could talk about the
banking I can go back to the issue of racism again but I'm not going to do it
job classifications in the CWA you tried to match skills to the job in the WPA it
was willy nilly right and if this conforms to Minsky taking workers as
they are right now what was necessary are were much more extensive training
programs in addition to obviously learning on the job
you know you can learn new skills but training programs now the j.g programs
that I've read about always include training programs and I think that
that's that's absolutely necessary and should be emphasized use value exchange
value okay am I done one more one more point they the WPA could not engage in
activities that were designed to produce what are called commodities use values
stuff right for exchange exchange was ruled out they could only produce use
values stuff right post offices school buildings football stadiums were still
suffering from the University of Arkansas football stadium that's sort of
an inside joke of a sort but in any case use values right now
I got it I got it I gotta read a quote sorry right
Harry Hopkins WPA projects were those that are socially useful which are
important to the nation which are outside the ordinary scope of our
economic system I would not have us compete by public works with private
industry socially useful important but not competitive what the WPA and other
programs demonstrated and this was actually argued as a consequence of
World War one developments is that government if you choose could in fact
organize an economy on the basis of use-values only you don't require
exchange to operate an economy exchange is a relatively recent development right
and historically significantly only within the last four hundred years or so
that's a short time right you can organize it now if you do that of course
you're outside of capitals framework and there's the problem and I'm out of time
and if anybody if anybody wants
if anybody wants larger paper on this issue that incorporates more stuff send
me an email if you can find me
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