Personal Income
America's Middle Class has been asked to do more than its fair share for over a century. Today, it is danger of disappearing completely.
American workers no longer have a party that represents them on the "bread-and-butter" issues.
As a result, they have been losing ground for the past 35 years while while wages have been stagnant and the cost-of-living continues to soar.
Food and gas prices have continually rose to take a bigger part of paychecks. Education and buying a home have become unaffordable.
All this has happened while the rich get richer, and less is asked of them.
It all goes back to workers having a voice in their democracy.
The NDP Approach:
1. Provide a Basic Income of $40,040 per individual and $52,000 per family
2. Increase the Minimum Wage to $19.25 per hour plus benefits (insurance, vacation, etc) with annual cost-of-living increases, and limit Minimum Wage to be used only for 1 month and only for entry-level positions
3. Implement a 28-hour work week as full-time complete with full benefits
4. Create a national retirement program
5. Ensure all workers have the right to join a union
6. Ensure full-time parents are paid $52K/yr with pension and benefits for raising their children (one parent per family at a time)
7. Implement 100% paid parental leave of 120 days for both parents with 1.5 hours per day for nursing mothers upon return
8. Raise interest rates to 7.75% to encourage personal saving
9. Eliminate taxes for people making under $45,000
10. Cap personal fortunes at $50 million per family
11. Child care for families at a cost of $10 a day for a full-time program, $7 a day for part-time, and free for families who have an annual income of under $45,000
Resources:
The Case for a 21st Century New Deal: The Jobs Program
Honoring Dr. King's Call for a Job Guarantee Program
The Case for a 21st Century New Deal: Passing FDR's Economic Bill of Rights
The Case for a 21st Century New Deal: 5.1 Million Jobs for Revitalizing America's Cities
Pay Parents to Raise Children Says Bishop
Take One Income, Please: The simplest welfare program imaginable, brought to you by the Swiss
Honoring Dr. King's Call for a Job Guarantee Program
The Job Guarantee: A Government Plan for Full Employment
The Case for a 21st Century New Deal: Minimum Wage and Basic Income
One Company's New Minimum Wage: $70,000 a Year