The Socialist Jobs bill

[RGacky3]

This would be a jobs bill proposed by a Socialist, not one that would require massiave revolution of the system, but it would be one that would be much better than any Kensian solution.

Infastructure Spending: This one is someting that Keynsians like, but what they would do often is issue government contracts, in the US obviously you need some infastructure spending, this would'nt be just for the sake of getting jobs, but to fix the infastructure, it would be government agencies with minimal private contracts, thus allowing the best cost and actually control the hiring rather than letting private companies do it.

Grants for unemployed: So that they can set up cooperatives or sole propriotorships, you have an idea, you can't get a loan, you come to the government and present your idea, either it fills a market need or a social need and you get a grant to try it out.

Co-Determination: It would be stronger than Germanies version, I would make it so that any corporation having more than 100 employees, and that even in non-corporations the ownerers with more employees must have employee approval to lay off (not fire thats different) and compensation is subject to employee review.

This would keep jobs in the US, and pull the money down to the working class (stimulating the economy).

Department of Labor: Gets fully funded and starts to do what it was supposed to do again, actually enforcing labor laws.

Nationalize the banks: Not all at once, but the ones that survive on government bailouts get nationalized instantly, if they are determined to be "to big to fail" they are nationalized instantly, after nationalized manegement of these banks is something that is democratically reviewed. Other banks then have the precident set, if they destroy the financial system, if they require bailouts to save the system, they get nationalized. (Keynsians usually just support capitalization)

Trade policy: No more Nafta, tarrifs go up, all trade policies are revied and those that are threat to jobs are undone.

Encorporation: Corporations are not people.

Tax: Get rid of the top rate tax cuts, and impliment a capital markets trade tax, and ban complex derivatives. (all of these are keynsian solutions also)

[RGacky3]

All of this is very moderate, but would fix unemployment better than any Keynsian solution.

[citizen of industry]

Yeah but who is going to propose that? It's far too radical for the democrats. It looks like a good transitional program ala Trotsky, in that it is far beyond what any corporation or capitalist government would ever allow while being entirely possible and reasonable. But I wouldn't want to join a party with that as its be-all-end-all platform. Simply because it could never be realized in our current society, I would be inclined to join the revolutionary party.

I think all this jobs bill does is emphasize that we need a massive revolution of the system for anything like it to be realized.

What do make of this one? Less moderate, but I think both are impossible in a capitalist society:

No more bailouts for bankers & speculators. Open the books. Nationalize the banking and insurance industries, under the control of workers! • Make public the results of worker audits of allegedly bankrupt and failing companies. • Send corporate crooks to jail, including predatory lenders.
Redirect war spending into social services. Redirect the Pentagon’s $500-plus billion budget into retraining soldiers and workers for peacetime production, and to providing for the public welfare. • Bring the troops home and close overseas military bases. • U.S. troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan now. • End U.S. military aid to Israel, Colombia, and other countries whose governments violate human rights.
Tax the rich & make corporations pay. Replace unfair, regressive taxes (such as sales taxes) with a steeply graduated tax on income and profits, putting the heaviest burden on the rich. • Tax all corporate and investment income, including capital gains and dividends. • Close tax loopholes and eliminate taxpayer subsidies for big business.
Raise workers' standard of living. Guarantee the right to organize. Eliminate all bars to union organizing and the right to strike, regardless of immigrant status and type of employer (private or public). • Cancel anti-labor, racist and environment raping free trade agreements, including NAFTA and CAFTA. • Organize for a labor party. Workers need their own, independent political vehicle to challenge the two parties of big business and the far right and to fight for working-class solutions.
Protect homes & create jobs. Put a moratorium on all home foreclosures. • Fund a mass public works program to create public-sector jobs at union-scale wages. • Provide training and apprenticeship programs for low-skilled workers, especially teens and young adults.
Provide universal employment & retirement security. Reduce the standard workweek to 30 hours with no cut in pay to instantly create more jobs. • Guarantee an annual minimum income for people who are unable to work. • Raise the minimum wage to union scale, with automatic COLA raises. • Raise Social Security benefits to cover actual living costs. • Create a federal, worker-controlled pension system to supplement Social Security. • Ban contracting-out of public services to the private sector.
Make quality healthcare & housing available for all. Provide low-cost, quality medical care for all by nationalizing the healthcare industry, including pharmaceuticals, medical supply companies and hospitals, with control by healthcare workers in collaboration with users/patients. • Dramatically expand public housing and rent control to provide shelter for those in need.
Mandate an environmentally sustainable energy policy. Nationalize the energy industry, including oil and coal, under the control of energy-industry workers, and create jobs in the environmental sector. • Redirect auto bailout funds to reopen closed auto factories, under the control of auto workers and retooled to manufacture mass transit, including buses, subways, light rail and trains. • Redirect subsidies to agribusiness and the biofuels industry into building an integrated mass public transit system with service to rural and underserved urban areas. • Increase the use of public transit by making it free.
Improve women’s & children’s lives. Mandate employer-funded childcare. • Provide government-funded family-planning services, including abortion. • Ensure equal pay for equal work. • Restore Aid to Families with Dependent Children and social services for the elderly, disabled, sick and mentally ill. • Fund free, universal, public education through college; cancel existing student debt.
Uphold civil liberties. Full civil rights for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people. • End ICE raids and Border Patrol checkpoints. • Dismantle for-profit detention centers and prisons as well as the Department of Homeland Security. • Drastically reduce the prison population by ending racial profiling and the phony war on drugs. • Redirect funds into drug rehabilitation, job training, and after-school and summer youth programs.

[RGacky3]

Exactly, it also kind of points that even moderate socialist chances would do tons for the economy, but it won't pass, not even close.

[Demogorgon]

I agree with most of this of course. Your proposal on trade is the only thing I disagree with. Trade between equally developed countries is a good thing. For instance restricting trade between America and Canada too much would likely just hurt both. Protectionism should be used to grow industries, protect declining industries during gradual transition and the like. It doesn't work so well as a blanket policy. The rest though I agree with.

There is more of course. Social Spending should be raised considerably. In the short run that's actually the fastest way to boost a faltering economy. In the long run infrastructure spending is best, but that takes a while to take effect, both should therefore be pursued and of course both have excellent consequences beyond mere economic growth.

So long as we are talking about non-revolutionary policies as well, America's political system would have to change considerably to make it more representative of the people and more able to act quickly to implement these sort of policies rather than have everything tied up in the complicated legislative process. By this I mean abolish the Senate, elect the House of Representatives by Proportional Representation, make the Executive responsible to the legislature and restrict judicial review of economic policy.

[Skooma Addict]

The money used on wars should just not be spent at all. It shouldn't be redirected anywhere. I think the legalization of some drugs would be a boost for the economy at this time as well.

[Demogorgon]

The money used on wars should just not be spent at all. It shouldn't be redirected anywhere. I think the legalization of some drugs would be a boost for the economy at this time as well.
What do you mean by not spend at all? Do you mean use the savings to reduce taxes?

As for drug legalisation, it would help a little. Mostly concerning Government finance if it could tax it, it may not do that much for the rest of the economy as after all it is already being bought and sold in considerable amounts. It would just make already existing activity legal rather than create new activity. Still the tax revenue would be useful.

[RichardAWilson]

I wouldn't advocate abolishing the Senate.

However, I do believe in Proportional Representation, Right-to-Referendum, Public Financing of Congressional Campaigns, Campaign Finance Limitations, Equal Airtime Access, Abolishing the Electoral College, Etc. I also oppose regressive "redistricting."

[Demogorgon]

Why do you oppose Senate abolition? It is an extremely undemocratic body. I suppose you could just remove its powers while keeping it as an advisory body. Perhaps best would be replacing it with an Assembly chosen by sortition.

[RichardAWilson]

How is it undemocratic? It's an elected branch. We're not talking about an American version of the House of Lords.

[Drosophila]

Not really socialist, since the means of production are still privately run and profit-motivated.

[Demogorgon]

How is it undemocratic? It's an elected branch. We're not talking about an American version of the House of Lords.
A vote in Wyoming is worth around seventy times that of a vote in California and that is before we even get into the fact that First Past the Post (also in the HoR of course but it could at least be changed there) means that the value of votes can vary even more widely than that.

Also of course symmetric bicameralism is inherently Conservative because it simply slows politics down without enhancing accountability to the people. (In fact it reduces it).