Lack of workforce interoperability and training means that guaranteed jobs can’t engage in building green infrastructure or building energy sources.

(Dolan, Ed (Snr. Fellow for Fiscal and Monetary Policy@Niskanen Center, Fmr. Prof. Econ@Dartmouth University). “Can We Put Everyone to Work? — The Alternatives to a ‘Job Guarantee,’” Niskanen Center, January 14, 2020. https://www.niskanencenter.org/can-we-put-everyone-to-work-the-alternatives-to-a-job-guarantee)

Second, I think advocates overstate the ease of creating 10 to 15 million meaningful new public service jobs. To avoid competing with the private sector, they could not be jobs in hotels or factories. They could not require advanced skills or investments in heavy equipment, which would mean JG workers could play a limited role in projects like replacing aging bridges or building green energy infrastructure. When we read advocates’ descriptions of JG jobs, they talk about things like teachers’ aides, recycling, and planting trees on vacant lots. How many workers could be absorbed in such jobs before they became mere make-work?