THE POTENTIAL WAY OUT

Grover Norquist is an economist that once said, “you should take government and shrink it to a size that could be drown in a bathtub.”  Well the swamp has overflowed with effluence and it’s drowning everyone.  His advocacy has always been that tax cuts generate employment and cuts would eventually pay for themselves.  This debunked theory of Voodoo economics is based on the Laffer model, which has turned out to be a laugher. 

The Laffer curve makes an erroneous relationship between taxes and revenues proven on many prior occasions to be inaccurate.  Take the Trump tax cut in 2017.  The known impact was 83% of the monies wound up in the top 10% in income. This tax cut created a built in a 1 trillion dollar debt, continuing yearly without the corresponding revenues. The gap between the wealthy and the poor has grown.  Yet the Republican Party continues to pull the wool over the eyes of the ill-informed and uneducated base of Trump’s tribe.  Tax cuts never do what politicians tell you.

What does the above have to do with the way out of this economic catastrophe.  It gives a background to show why we as a country, are not prepared for any catastrophic national event.  The Trump administration from day 1, began dismantling governmental offices and not replacing non-essential governmental employees.  This was done to the detriment of forward planning and preparation, for these types of events.  The planning should now prepare for the worst case without a vaccine.  Is this planning being done?

This worst case must face the potential for millions of long-term, un-employed, lower end wage service employees whose jobs may or may not return.  These relatively unskilled workers will need either alternative work, accept seasonal employment in the fields, or be retrained for other employment. 

I have often thought the maximum use of a CCC type effort is one of the best ways to train or re-train unemployed, that want to change skill sets.  These labor groups could be assigned along with the Army Corp of Engineers.  The existing roads, bridges, and airports all need repairs, which could be beneficial to all. 

College graduates that owe student debt in my scenario, would have the debt forgiven for 2 years of service in the CCC type groups.  Set up similar apprenticeships in each of the Federal Departments to hire graduates, that are struggling to find employment. Another way to solve unemployment is to give the option of joining the military and sign up for 2 years and have student debt forgiven. 

The best way for large-scale employment that would completely overhaul our infrastructure, is the building of a high speed rail, consisting of coast to coast and north to south routes.  Updating all our outdated and run down airports and port improvements.  Repairing and updating our intra-state and inter-state roads and railroads could also be accomplished.

Encourage Green Projects, with incentives for local and state governments individuals and corporations to build new schools, hospitals, and large scale wind and solar farms. 

Above are my candidates for boosting the economic activity and reducing unemployment going forward, or perhaps a way out.  Actual employment, training and large-scale American modern infrastructure could take us into the 22^nd century.

History shows corporations boost their stock price and pay executives salary when provided the opportunity with taxpayer money and this type action provides no relief to the unemployed.  A sum of perhaps 3 trillion dollars could do a majority of the work described above.  At the very least, a healthy down payment with tangible beneficial results.