In recent week there have been numerous excellent articles addressing the scope of problems related to our dependency on job creation as the ONLY source of income. But universally, the authors are oblivious to the non-job-dependent solution. Simply extending jobless benefits once again won't solve the problem of long-term unemployment and underemployment, and the diminishing impact income losses have on the long-term productive capacity of the United States economy.

The common thread…

On December 04, 2012, Barack Obama gave the most important speech of his presidency (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/04/remarks-president-economic-mobility). The topic was the rising level of economic inequality in America, which the President identified as "the defining challenge of our time: making sure our economy works for every working…

Swiss citizens have submitted sufficient voter signatures to put an initiative on the ballot that would pay every citizen of Switzerland $2,800 per month, no strings attached. Similar efforts to provide a basic income to country citizens are under way throughout Europe. Even in the United States there is growing talk of establishing an annual Citizens Dividend or Social Credit for Americans as well.

Such schemes are redistributive and must be financed by a tax (open or disguised).…

Pope Francis used his first major written work to attack capitalism as a "new tyranny," while urging global leaders to fight poverty and inequality. In a document published Tuesday, November 26, 2013, Pope Francis denounced the “tyranny” of capitalism, "idolatry of money" and "trickle-down" economic policies, as well as consumerism and a financial system which he says rules rather than serves. The Pope urged politicians to guarantee all citizens “dignified work, education and…

The recently published data from the Census Bureau is depressing––as more people in America today are on welfare than have full-time jobs.

At the end of 2011, the last year for which data are available, some 108.6 million people received one or more means-tested government benefit programs––bureaucratese for welfare.

Meanwhile, the Census data showed that there were just 101.7 million people with full-time jobs, including both the private and government sectors.

As a…

The low wages paid to fast-food workers are costing taxpayers $7 billion a year in public assistance, according to a study released October 15, 2013 by the UC Berkeley Labor Center. The report, "Fast Food, Poverty Wages: The Public Cost of Low-Wage Jobs In The Fast Food Industry" (http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/publiccosts/fastfoodpovertywages.shtml)  was co-written with the University of…