Convention of States
Recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed a plan to “guarantee” a $15/hour job to anyone who “wants or needs one.” According to the Washington Post:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will announce a plan for the federal government to guarantee a job paying $15 an hour and health-care benefits to every American worker “who wants or needs one,” embracing the kind of large-scale government works project that Democrats have shied away from in recent decades.
Sanders’s jobs guarantee would fund hundreds of projects throughout the United States aimed at addressing priorities such as infrastructure, care giving, the environment, education and other goals. Under the job guarantee, every American would be entitled to a job under one of these projects or receive job training to be able to do so, according to an early draft of the proposal.
A representative from Sanders’s office said they had not yet done a cost estimate for the plan or decided how it would be funded, saying they were still crafting the proposal.
Um, no doubt they haven’t done a cost estimate for this, because I’m not sure calculators go that high. Mere days after Sanders’s proclamation, Finland announced that it will shutter its universal basic income program by year’s end.
The program handed out $685/month to unemployed people between the ages of 25 and 58, which was projected to raise taxes in Finland by 30 percent. The already over-taxed population finally said enough is enough, and the welfare system will soon begin to cut benefits to those not seeking employment.
If Finland, a small, relatively homogeneous country, would have to raise taxes by 30 percent to sustain this kind of program, how much would the US have to increase the amount of money it collects from its citizens? If Sanders and Co. gain momentum for increased government-handout programs, hardworking Americans could be looking at a massive tax increase over the next decade.
That’s why those hardworking Americans have joined the Convention of States Project. An Article V Convention of States has the power to propose constitutional amendments that force Congress to be fiscally responsible. These amendments can include spending cuts and tax caps, which would ensure that hairbrained schemes like Sanders’ never see the light of day.
Image Credit: PRO Ninara on Flickr
Hat Tip: The Washington Post
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