In the last post, I listed ten ways to boost social mobility in the US*. These were:

  1. Subsidize Childcare for Those in Need

  2. Establish Universal Healthcare System with Serious Cost Controls

  3. Facilitate Lifelong Skill Building through an Adult Education Basic Income

  4. Increase Stock of Affordable Housing

  5. Improve Public Safety

  6. Boost Geographic Mobility

  7. Support Economic Vitality and Growth

  8. Pursue Sound Tax Policy

  9. Eliminate Chronic Poverty

  10. Practice Good Governance

Since the US public debt is already rather high, I would stipulate that government funding to boost social mobility come entirely from additional tax revenue. US tax revenue - across all levels of government, from local to state to federal - is currently around 25.5% of GDP. I suggest raising that to 30% of GDP, or another 4.5%. This is close to the government’s take 20 years ago but still less than the average for developed countries, as per the following chart:

Assuming a US GDP of $22 trillion, another 4.5% of tax revenue would bring in close to one trillion dollars. I’ll take it. Now here’s how I’d divvy up the money:

Very roughly, here’s how I came up with the figures:

Housing: Based on financing models in other developed countries (see OECD, 2020), put aside .6% of GDP for direct investment in housing development, public capital transfers for housing development, and housing allowances/vouchers.

Adult Student Basic Income: Up to six years total for legal residents, age 18 - 65. Funding would come from other government programs (e.g., Pell grants, federal student loans) and an employer payroll tax of around 1%. For more details, see How to Fund an Adult Student Basic Income without Raising Taxes (Very Much).

Childcare Subsidies: Full or partial subsidies available for families with income up to 399% of the federal poverty level. For more details, see  Subsidizing Childcare, Part II: A Specific Proposal.

Universal Healthcare: based on Urban Institute’s figures for a universal healthcare system that combined an expanded version of the current US system with a public option. For more details, see The Bold Centrist, Part VII: How to Pay for Universal Health Care on a Budget.

Unemployment Insurance (UI) Extension: UI recipients eligible for a $250/week UI extension for up to 13 weeks if move to area with employment rate and housing availability above a certain threshold. Must register in person at employment office to establish eligibility for benefit. Estimate up to two millions UI recipients a year, receiving an average of $2200 in UI extension payments.

Law Enforcement Jobs: to increase full-time sworn officers to around 800,000, returning to the officer-resident ratios of the late 1990s. This would entail about 100,000 more officers, at an annual cost of $110,000 each.

Infrastructure Jobs: Two million jobs, an average of $60,000 each. Some jobs are part-time or seasonal. Low-skill manual laborers would work no more than 30 hours a week, receiving an additional 10 hours a week of paid coursework or technical training, to insure they come away from these jobs with solid transferable skills.

Family Leave: Caregivers may receive up to 13 weeks of paid family leave per child, with the federal government paying $250 a week. Different caregivers may share the 13 weeks and payments may be supplemented by employers or other programs. Estimate about four million recipients per year.

Adult Education/Training: for inmates and participants in job programs (e.g., infrastructure manual laborers), to expand education/training options. Just guessing on the cost.

Plus funds for unanticipated expenses and administration. Most of the additional tax revenue would come from employer taxes and a progressive income tax increase, impacting middle-class households and up.

The hard part is getting the people and politicians onboard.

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* This list addresses direct and indirect challenges to social mobility. For instance, physical well-being and residential stability are conducive to learning, skill development and staying employed. Plus, sound tax policy and good governance are necessary for financing, developing and maintaining effective safety net programs.

References:

Full-Time Employees in Law Enforcement Agencies, 1997-2016. U.S. Department of Justice Statistical Brief NCJ 251762. Shelley Hyland, Ph.D., BJS Statistician August 2018

OECD (2020), “Social housing: A key part of past and future housing policy”, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Policy Briefs, OECD, Paris, http://oe.cd/social-housing-2020.