Today I Learned

We don't need unemployment as it is. Stephanie Kelton makes the case here (pdf). Here's an AI summary of how wages are managed without the need for unemployment using a public service employment (PSE) program:

The PSE program would pay a wage of $15/hr plus benefits, establishing an effective minimum wage and compensation level nationwide.

It would provide jobs to anyone ready and willing to work, eliminating involuntary unemployment. The authors estimate the program could employ around 15 million workers currently unemployed, underemployed, or out of the labor force.

By providing jobs at $15/hr, the program would lift wages at the bottom and reduce poverty. The wage floor would pressure private employers to raise wages to compete for workers.

The program is designed not to compete with private employers, except to establish minimum standards. In economic upswings, private employers would recruit from the program, while in downturns the program would absorb laid-off workers.

So the PSE program aims to reduce unemployment by directly providing jobs, while also lifting wages by setting an effective nationwide minimum of $15/hr plus benefits. It establishes a wage floor that would ripple up to benefit other low-wage workers.

In summary, the policy note argues the PSE program could simultaneously reduce unemployment and increase wages for low-income workers through its design and job provision at $15/hr. The wage floor and job guarantee are interlinked policy goals.

It should be insulting to Americans the country over that one of our main economic institutions has determined that people must be unemployed for economic growth. Unemployment has so many socio-economic problems it's insane, and it leads to physical and psychological problems, and even ultimately to suicide. Why would we want this, and why should it continue to be implemented, if an alternative exist that better manages wages and doesn't need call for unemployment?