re: State Strategy or Global Strategy

Elson's post of the above title of 27 Nov 99 concludes (last paragraph):
"We need a global strategy which at once covers the entire globe and leaves
no place for private business to run, and which also implements measures
that reduce, and eventually eliminate, the insidious gap between periphery
(Third World) and core (First World)..."

COMMENT:
Just as some food for thought along these lines, there is a group of
post-Keynesian economists who have worked out a scheme dubbed "ELR"
(employer of last resort). They argue that the state should (and could) be
the employer of last resort. In other words, if the private sector fails to
create jobs for, say, 15% of the work force, then the state should (and
could)
create those missing jobs. The monetary and other theory for that is all
available. In my opinion, the same idea could be applied globally. The world
economy (or, more correctly, the people of the world) need approximately 700
million more jobs, according to some estimates. If you apply the ELR concept
at the world level, you would set up a global agency which creates these
missing jobs, using the post-Keynesian proposal.  Economists who have been
working on this for the national level include Bill Mitchell (Australia),
Warren Mosler (USA) and others. Guys out there, don't reject this out of
hand as "revisionist ...." (expletive deleted). It's worth a thought.

Gert Kohler
Oakville, Canada