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FULL EMPLOYMENT

There is no just reason in a sustainable economy for so many people to live without work and without hope. To take away the dreams and aspirations of the younger generation, to compromise the stability and continuity of family life, is nothing short of persecution and betrayal at the highest level!

POLICY OBJECTIVES
* Forced unemployment in a sustainable economy will become a thing of the past.
* Everyone that is physically and mentally able must have the opportunity for gainful employment.
* The labour market will be split into the three categories of private sector, civil service and community service.
* Unemployment will be replaced with Community Employment schemes.
* Money to pay for Community Employment will be taken from general tax revenues.

POLICY CONDITIONS
* Unemployment means not having a job in either the private sector or in the civil service.
* Community Employment must never overlap the activities of the private sector or the civil service, and pays an individual 90% of a country's recognised 'living wage'.
* Imports and exports with other trading nations must remain balanced, so that trade imbalances never occur.
* Community Employment payments can only be claimed by nationals living in the host country.

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
1. There is no reason for anyone not to have gainful employment in a caring, civilised society.

2. The current high levels of unemployment suffered across the world is the result of gross incompetence and negligence at the highest levels of government. There is no justifiable economic or moral reason why we should inflict so much pain and hardship on our citizens.

3. The labour market must be split into the three categories of private sector, civil service and community service.

4. The private sector must be the motivator to secure a continuous supply of food, water, energy and shelter - the essentials of life, without which none of us can survive. Plus all the sustainable, value added goods and services we want in a modern society.

5. The civil service must be the guardians of an organised, developed society and administor the institutions needed to support it. Civil services look after only those services which are considered necessary by the majority of citizens and at the same time, can be afforded from the public purse. Public services need primarily, to protect and facilitate the development of community life - health, education, law & order, and defence.

6. The community service would offer the 'unemployed' an opportunity to work as community employees, engaged in improving community infrastructure and services. Community services need primarily, to maintain and enhance day to day community life – recreational facilities, cycle paths, environmental projects and general care of public space to name just a few. The ‘unemployed’ get gainful employment and our community services improve for everyone.

7. Public and community services should never overlap or compete in the free-market. Undermining the free-market would simply damage a healthy balance between supply and demand, and jeopardise the supply of core products necessary to maintain a dynamic, thriving economy. Reduction in supply where demand is no longer met will quickly cause inflationary pressures and threaten the adequate supply of food, water and shelter.

8. Considering the above, it is of paramount importance that any job creation is therefore made without ever distorting the essential productions of the free-market. So, in order to create Community Employment for those without a job, we must pay them slightly less than the minimum wage.

9. Community Employees, previously unemployed, must participate in community services for 3 days a week, leaving two days free each week for further studies and seeking free-market employment for greater reward.

10. Community Employment schemes would offer unemployed people the possibility to participate in improving community infrastructure and services - work that in no way competes with or undermines the dynamics of the private sector. This measure guards against deflationary pressures on private sector labour costs. This is very important since Community Employment should not compete with and undermine the earnings of those employed in the free-market – to sponsor a 'race' to the bottom.

11. Community Employment would be funded from general tax revenues. Until an affordable home building program is in place and the resulting low-cost economy has reached equilibrium, additional funds can be 'printed' by a nation's central bank if necessary. Inflation I hear you say! This is NOT borrowed money so would add nothing to a nation's debt mountain. Inflation would only be a problem if this money simply financed a spending spree on imports. National accounts that strictly maintain balanced books on imports and exports are therefore of critical importance. Community Employment payments can only be claimed in the host country since these payments must circulate and benefit the local economy, and only to nationals of the country in which payments are made.

12. So, to recap. Money to pay for Community Employment can be funded from general tax revenues with the following strict conditions. a) Community Employment must never overlap the activities of the free-market. b) Imports and exports with other trading nations must remain balanced, so that trade imbalances never occur. c). Community Employment is offered and paid only to nationals living in the host country. It cannot under any circumstances be offered to those living abroad.

13. With these three major controls adhered to, payments can be safely made to employ the ‘unemployed’. Paying for Community Employment means that much more cash is injected at the lower end of the economy, where it is needed most. In this way, the unemployed have work and the means to afford the essentials of civilised, dignified life - food on the table and a roof over their heads.

14. Paying for Community Employment is a much better way to inject money into an economy than the current preferred method of the central banks via Quantitative Easing. QE merely 'prints' and injects cash at the top of the economy, into the hands of the banks... where it stops! It serves only to recapitalise the bad debts of the bad banks. A healthy economy needs money to circulate and the best way to stimulate the economy is to circulate money from the bottom up by paying the unemployed and retired people in society, who generally need to spend rather than save.

15. With all this extra cash injected into the economy, the increasing circulation of money stimulates the economy and drives the creation of new free-market goods and services, thereby significantly increasing the number of better-paid, free-market employment opportunities.

16. As time passes and the economy evolves, a constant transfer of labour from Community Employment to the free-market will occur. In order to maintain levels of community employment and associated levels of service, those who retire, are able and wish to, would meet this short-fall, creating a flexible economy that always maintains a good level of community services, full employment and early retirement – see section on Early Retirement.

17. An economy that functions in this way, across the board, is an economy that encourages small businesses and enterprise to flourish whilst at the same time makes it ever more difficult for the large corporations to prosper through monopoly and sheer financial force.

18. Since Community Employment earnings would be typically spent rather than saved, public purse tax revenues of 20% VAT on each of the subsequent transactions this additional money creates in the real economy.

The most important reforms are described with full details of policy and financing in the section [ principles of change | A MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE ]. These reforms are absolutely necessary to initiate positive reform of our political systems. Policy in all areas of state involvement needs urgent attention but must be part of an ongoing process of consensual change through a system of direct democracy and consultative referendum.

We are NOT a political party but a movement for social economic reform. We want to help restore democracy in Europe and put public money and political power back in the hands of all citizens. We want an economy that works for the people and not for the ruling elite. Simply spread the word to become part of the movement and together we can be the catalyst for change.

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live 2b3 ...and help build a better world. A social economic model for sustainable living in a people and resource based society - it's time for change. Written by: Michael Livingston Seagull
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