With rising inflation, stagnant wages, deeply rooted inequalities, and increasingly concentrated profits, the American economy is broken. More than 37 million Americans live in poverty, and although work is supposed to provide a route to a better life, 53 million people are stuck in jobs that pay low wages. Over the past 50 years, the balance of power between employers and workers has increasingly skewed toward employers. Workers have few opportunities to shape their working conditions and are too often trapped in dangerous, low-paid jobs. The United States faces a job-quality crisis. To reimagine the economy, restore a balance of power between workers and employers, and share prosperity today and for generations to come, we need bold, broad solutions.
One solution gaining momentum is guaranteed income. At times understood narrowly as a replacement for income for jobs lost to automation, guaranteed income has a much longer history, with support at the nation’s founding, during the New Deal, throughout the civil rights movement, and more. This brief explores guaranteed income as a tool for the unique and urgent economic challenges of today; it focuses on guaranteed income’s impacts on work and job quality. How might guaranteed income rebalance power and dismantle the inequalities that plague our current labor market? Can guaranteed income restore, rather than replace, the promise of work in America?
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Tweet How can guaranteed income dismantle the inequalities that plague our labor market? This brief by @shellysteward and @banks_camryn explores its potential to address the unique and urgent economic challenges of today.
Tweet Work is supposed to provide a route to a better life, but 53 million people are stuck in jobs that pay low wages. Can guaranteed income restore the promise of work in America? Find out in this brief by @shellysteward and @banks_camryn.
Tweet The US faces a #jobquality crisis, and we need bold, broad solutions to fix it. One solution that’s gaining momentum is guaranteed income. Learn more in this brief by @shellysteward and @banks_camryn.
Tweet While guaranteed income is often discussed around automation and job loss, it actually has a much longer history — with support at the nation’s founding, during the New Deal, and throughout the civil rights movement.
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The Future of Work Initiative aims to identify, develop, and amplify solutions that address the challenges of today while building toward a future in which workers are safe, empowered, and equipped to thrive in our changing world. The Future of Work Initiative is an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program.
The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. Follow us on social media and join our mailing list to stay up-to-date on publications, blog posts, events, and other announcements.
