How to Create a Million Jobs by Election Day

Posted on by Simon

This idea is so easy and sensible that it must be fatally flawed:

How can we create a million new jobs?

Allow young people to work for $5.00/hr until unemployment is below 7.2%

Arguments for:

  • Some money is better than no money.
  • For young people getting experience is critical.
  • Employers will hire more people if their marginal cost is lower
  • A million new workers will help to reinvigorate the economy.
  • Some workers making $5.00 will keep some jobs from going overseas.
  • This is already being done stealthily for college graduates under the guise of “internships.”

Arguments Against:

  • The minimum wage is like social security if politicians touch it they dies.
  • Once we lower pay it will take forever to get it raised again.
  • Employers will fire full pay workers to hire $5.00 workers.  (see below * for the solution to this one)
  • Don’t change anything our system is perfect.

* To avoid laying off higher paid workers companies can only hire at this rate if they are increasing their total payroll.

Young people could mean under 24.

A Change we’ve been hoping for.

 

 

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5 thoughts on “How to Create a Million Jobs by Election Day”

  1. To begin with, the “Recession” ended in 2009.

  2. David: Maybe the financial recession but not the jobs recession. Focus on the idea not the details.

  3. The word “Recession” is a specifically defined macro economic term. There are probably other more relevant terms which would express your thought. Also, there are standard published statistics which could be used as a metric.

  4. Okay David I’ve made the change. Now what is your opinion about the general idea. Don’t miss the forest.

  5. This proposal does have legs, but only if it were a part of a larger fix. However, it does seem to imply further government oversight to assure adherence to the rules.

    I would prefer the sort of program which came into being in the early 70’s under the Nixon administration. This program used the “carrot” part of the tax coed to encourage the hiring of otherwise marginal employees. I hired two individuals, one of whom stayed on for many years.

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