This nation needs to implement a combination of a jobs guarantee AND universal basic income. Doing so would break the boom-bust cycles and inflationary/deflationary effects we get from our current system.
Right now, the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of low unemployment (Target 4%) and low inflation (target 2%). If inflation goes up, the Fed tightens the economy thus throwing millions out of jobs- which causes consumer spending to drop. Up Down Up Down.
With a jobs guarantee and/or UBI, Consumer spending remains stable- no more wild swings- and the Fed can simply manage the money supply which would be easier since inflation would be less of an issue with stable demand.
Sovereign nations can indeed "print money." Per MMT (modern monetary theory) principles, the USA is a CURRENCY ISSUER, not a currency user. We don't operate under the gold standard so issuing currency does not necessarily translate into inflation- but can translate into economic growth!
It is irrelevant whether we "raise" the currency for UBI by increasing taxes- we should do so for other social and economic reasons. We have flattened the tax code, created loopholes like carried interest, and cut corporate taxes- all since 1981. The result is the largest gap in earnings since the Gilded Age. Wealthy people especially the top 10%, have become oligarchs in an increasingly unequal nations with increasingly unequal opportunities. Taxing at a more progressive level both individuals and corporations reins in this inequality.
The pandemic checks were a fantastic experiment in UBI as was the free health care for covid which was a small experiment in universal health care coverage. Both WORKED!
I suggest two books to read about which I plan to write an article on Medium juxtaposing them both:
The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism by Clara E. Mattei
and
Moral Economies of Money: Politics and the Monetary Constitution of Society by Jacob Feinig
I would also recommend The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton on MMT.
