Thread by @MarkVinPaul

I can't express how grateful I am to @AyannaPressley for her leadership on full employment. The #JobGuarantee has was a central demand of FDR and New Deal Dems along with Civil Rights leaders. It's time to to make the the dream of MLK, FDR, Scott King, and others a reality. 🧵 1/

https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1362404961393520645

Full employment has a rich history here in the US. In fact, it was a cornerstone of the Dem party platform from 1944-1988. The country's first experiment w/ direct employment came in the cold harsh winter of 1933-34 w/ the Civil Works Administration. 2/

With two months of creating the program Harry Hopkins, a trained social worker, and FDR employed *4 million* workers through the CWA. That was nearly 1-in-10 Americans employed at prevailing wages. 3/

The CWA would build/improve 40,000 schools, 1,000 airports, 255,000 miles of road, 12,000,000 feet of sewer pipe, and 3,700 playgrounds. But it wasn’t all traditional construction. Hopkins knew that everyone had to eat, for “people don’t eat in the long run—they eat everyday.” 4/

So they employed artists, writers, and musicians. All at prevailing wages.

A yr later they created the WPA. From 1935-1943 the program would put 8.5 million people to work. Here too, a broad array of work was done. 5/

1,5000 nursery schools were operated, 225,000 concerts were performed, & hundreds of thousands of hot school lunches were served.

But there were more JG programs! Let's talk about the Civilian Conservation Corps. It employed over 3 million hungry youth. thehill.com/opinion/energy…

They planted trees, built trails, occupied fire towers, and engaged in numerous other vital conservation tasks. I myself have benefited from the program many times, hiking on the trails and sleeping in the cabins the people of the CCC built near a century ago. 7/

WWII drove unemployment down to 1.7% from 1943-45, effectively eliminating unemployment. But FDR's four freedoms, which included the "freedom from want" put full employment front and center. 8/

When the end of the war was in sight, FDR proposed an Economic Bill of Rights. The first right? The RIGHT TO A JOB. 9/

Roosevelt passed away before he was able to push this through Congress. The result was the Employment Act of 1946, but the Congressional sausage machine weakened the bill, w/ final cuts leaving out people "right to a job". 10/

In the end, the bill, which was the last major piece of New Deal legislation, demanded the Federal Government “use all practical means” at its disposal to “promote maximum employment.” It never did. 11/

Next, the Civil Rights movement took up the mantle for full employment. While today we tend to talk about the March on Washington of 1963, let us never forget that it was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 12/

The marchers certainly knew it, as one of the most frequently spotted signs in the crowd read “Civil Rights + Full Employment = Freedom.” 13/

MLK died before he could see his dream of a job guarantee become a reality. But his intellectual and life partner, who would help chisel away at the economic shackles that suppressed all working-class Americans by ushering a full employment bill across the finish line. 14/

The end result was the Humphrey Hawkins Act & creation of the Fed's Dual Mandate. The bill, which initially included a JG office and the right to employment, was also weakened by liberal dems. In the end it called for 3% unemployment, and lower thereafter. But had no teeth. 15/

Since, the government has essentially ignored full employment. Millions of Americans are without work, even during economic booms. A Job Guarantee will fundamentally change that. 16/

A Job Guarantee will eliminate involuntary unemployment & poverty employment once and for all. In work I've done with @SandyDarity, @DarrickHamilton, & others we think about what such a program could look like today. 17/ cbpp.org/research/full-…

And here's @AyannaPressley groundbreaking #JobGuarantee resolution! Let's get it done & deliver the economic rights that true freedom necessitates. pressley.house.gov/media/press-re…

Finally, I'll add that countless scholars have done important work here. To name a few: @ptcherneva @rohangrey @RaulACarrillo @StephanieKelton @AlanAAja1 @FadhelKaboub and many, many more.

OK, one more thing: It's popular AF! Polling doesn't get better than this, folks.

https://twitter.com/MarkVinPaul/status/1362369937868804096