Jobs and Freedom Now! Functional Finance, Full Employment, and the Freedom Budget

Forty-five years ago, the A. Philip Randolph Institute issued ??The Freedom Budget,?? in which a program for economic transformation was proposed that included a job guarantee for everyone ready and willing to work, a guaranteed income for those unable to work or those who should not be working, and a living wage to lift the working poor out of poverty. Such policies were supported by a host of scholars, civic leaders, and institutions, including the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; indeed, they provided the cornerstones for King??s ??Poor Peoples?? Campaign?? and ??economic bill of rights.?? This paper proposes a ??New Freedom Budget?? for full employment based on the principles of functional finance. To counter a major obstacle to such a policy program, the paper includes a ??primer?? on three paradigms for understanding government budget deficits and the national debt: the deficit hawk, deficit dove, and functional finance perspectives. Finally, some of the benefits of the job guarantee are outlined, including the ways in which the program may serve as a vehicle for a variety of social policies.