41 million Americans work for less than $15 per hour: it is time that all who make our economy work be granted a respectable livelihood.

Right-wing state legislatures increasingly seek to skew our civic contract in favor of capital owners with “right to work” (for less) laws. Strong unions and a voice for workers are essential to a functioning social democracy and must be at the top of a social democratic political agenda.

This excellent article by American University econ professor Jon Wisman lays out both the moral and practical case for guaranteed employment and government-sponsored training, or “re-skilling."

The Universal Living Wage project advocates for a minimum wage based upon local housing costs. The Social Democrat supports all efforts to raise sub-adequate wages but, given the great disparity in housing costs around the country, favors this approach over a single $15 national minimum.

A brief primer on America’s woefully inadequate unemployment insurance system.

Coal is on the way out, beset by competition from cleaner and cheaper natural gas as well as wind and solar. Meanwhile the mining jobs Trump promised gullible voters are rapidly being replaced by robotics. (March, 2017)

So write two economists on the Economic Policy Institute website.

 2/5’s of the eight million “prime-age” male workers currently not in the job market may be sidelined because of debilitating health issues, Robert Samuelson reports in this November, 2016, Washington Post op-ed piece.

A comprehensive summary of active labor market proposals, from training to job creation and income support, to bring all Americans into the economic system at livable wages.

44 percent of recent college grads are working in jobs that do not require a college degree, often at less than a living wage.

As economist Elise Gould and Teresa Kroeger argue in this Economic Policy Institute article, President Obama left us a steadily improving outlook for workers. The authors provide a checklist of what yet needs to be done: higher minimum wage, better enforcement of labor standards, paid family and sick leave, an end to irregular scheduling and an improved safety net.

Changes in the U.S. economy have been particularly hard on young males, explains this Boston Globe piece. What can government do to help? The Social Democrat asks.

(June 3, 2017) In the fuzzy no-fact world of the Accidental Presidency, the White House has variably claimed that the AP’s trip to Saudi Arabia resulted in the creation of “millions of jobs” (Trump in Saudi Arabia) “hundreds of thousands” of jobs (Trump after returning from trip), or “tens of thousands” of jobs (Sean Spicer on May 26th). As this New York Times piece summarizes, it’s difficult to tell how many jobs will grow out of Trump’s trip, but the numbers are certain to be far lower than those suggested by the administration. (We know you’re shocked.)

Federal regulations that protect workers from exposure to dangerous substances, such as beryllium and silicates are being put on hold by the Trump administration, while the Accidental budget eliminates funding for such important workplace safety programs as OSHA’s Chemical Safety Board.

Writing in the Chicago Tribune, columnist Robert Reed envisions Republican governor Bruce Rauner signing the $15 minimum wage bill recently passed by the state’s Democrat-controller state legislature (unlikely). The result: a booming economy, as better paid workers plow their increased earnings back into goods and services, in a virtuous circle of consumer spending and job creation.