45 years ago,my professor, spoke of an Economic Strategy put forth by JFK (among others) referred to as “Full Employment, Fiscal Surplus”.

In the early 90s, a speech in the movie “Dave” stated that work was “not just about the paycheck, it’s about respect, it’s about looking in the mirror and knowing that you’ve done something valuable with your day.”

With the onset of Corona, some still get a paycheck because their jobs are gone, others have lost both job and paycheck.
Many small businesses, are not allowed to provide work even for their owners.
And so many are unable to look in the mirror and know that they’ve done something valuable with their day.

What if we were to start reporting Employment statistics?

What if we were to build a National Employment Registry where every individual can state their qualifications, whether or not
they are currently working and whether or not they are looking for something better,
Any Employer could post the jobs they are looking to fill and projects they are undertaking,
Every Craft Union could post the apprentice jobs that are going unfilled,
Every Educational institution could post the scholarships that are available for in demand academic credentials.
Every Government Agency could post requests for project proposals.

What if we allowed the government to be the employer of last resort, paying people to retrain and/or enhance their skill set
instead of  merely paying some subsistence stipend for 26 weeks while the individual is “looking for work”.

Full Stable Employment that provides the goods and services our society needs and the income necessary to earn a living,
will allow the country to know that it has done something valuable with it’s resources.