Guaranteed Wages and Employment.

The article presents a discussion on guaranteed wages and employment in the U.S. The guaranteed wage involves three major ideas. First, it is a method of payment; the emphasis generally laid on the hourly rate and to a somewhat lesser extent on the daily and weekly rate is shifted to a rate measured in terms of a substantial number of weeks, months or even a full year. Secondly, it implies the idea of a minimum wage which assumes that a base income sufficient to meet at least subsistence should be paid. Finally, the concept implies the guarantee of employment for a certain period. A guaranteed wage can be best applied, when it is least needed; and when it is most needed, it can be least applied. It appears to be broadly true that highly skilled workers, key workers, maintenance men, and those with high seniority ranking often do not need the guarantee, but it is easiest to give it to them. Guaranteed wages are not a cure for a business cycle depression. They do help to transfer existing social and economic burdens by sharing them between employed and unemployed, but at the same time they may increase the total burden.