RE: 'No More Unemployment', 'Jobs for Everyone' Promises from Leading Democrats, Funded by Taxes
Expanding government intervention on giving jobs to everyone using the money of others, could lead to economic measures that could harm the productive and private sector. My country (Venezuela) is a vivid example of that.
Since 1976, the oil industry was nationalized, with its main entreprise, PDVSA, being the main state owned corporation. Oil production rates fell to less than half in 13 years. Then, the goverment lessened the intervention in corporate/operational decisions, and in just 10 years, in 1998 PDVSA was between the best oil companies of the planet.
Then, Hugo Chavez rose in power.
In 2002, any worker who joined the oil strike because of bad corporate decisions, and the inclusion of military on the corporate ranks, were fired, my dad being one of them, half of the workforce (20,000 employees fired). Then, the government used the oil profits by its discretion funding all government programs it could, compromising operations, hiring people who practically did not add anything to the main purpose of the corporation. Their main workforce rose from 40,000 in 2002, to 120,000.
And the oil production stayed the same.
10 years after that, oil prices fell sharply. And we were broke, as we spent money on government programs marred in corruption, Contractor mafias due to the military involment in corporate ranks, and operational deficiencies. And again, oil production fell to less than half.
Now people wages are not enough even to pay transportation to go to work.
Same could happen to any country using taxation for the same purpose.
Governments (especially socialists): experts in how to make things useless appear useful :P