POLITICAL ISSUE #507: EXCESSIVE URBANIZATION

PRESENT CONDITION: The concentration of America's lower income population in large urban areas is aggravating a host of social problems including crime, pollution, family breakup, drug addiction and welfare abuse).

DIRECTION OF IMPROVEMENT: America should discourage further population growth in large urban areas and encourage the distribution of both jobs and population to medium sized cities and smaller towns.

ISSUE JUSTIFICATION: Cities offer enhanced efficiency in social/commercial interactions due to high population density. However this high population density inherently intensifies social conflicts and requires higher per capita income to support roads, sewers, high rise buildings etc. Encouraging people and especially lower income people to live in lower cost non-urban areas will both provide them with a higher living standard and relieve the social problems of the cities.

AUTHOR: UWSA SANTA CLARA CO EMAIL: humphrey@aimnet.com

OPTIONS FOR ISSUE # 507: EXCESSIVE URBANIZATION

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Rather than paying welfare mostly to people in large urban areas who claim they are unable to find a job, the United States shall offer an hourly wage assistance program for low income workers. The object of this program shall be to 1) expand the market for low skill jobs by lowering the wage paid by employers 2) maintain the wage received by employees above the minimum wage to encourage people to work and 3) encourage low income jobs outside urban areas. The following is an example of the implimentation of this program.

The minimum employer wage would be set at $2/hr. However the American people would supplement this by an additional $4/hr for a total of $6/hr minimum employee wage. For each $1/hr in employer wage, the "helping hand subsidy" would decrease by 50¢.

Employeer paid wage. . .$2. . .$4 . . .$6 . . .$8 . . .$10
Helping Hand Subsidy. . $4 . . .$3 . . .$2 . . .$1 . . .$ 0
Employee wage . . . . . .$6 . . .$7 . . $8 . . .$9 . . .$10

JUSTIFICATION: The phenomena of urbanization is driven by the higher paying jobs in large urban areas. Since the wage suppliment is uniform, this program will encourage both low wage industries and low wage workers to locate outside urban areas. The lower cost of living will both give the workers a higher standard of living and give the employers more profitable businesses.

AUTHOR: UWSA SANTA CLARA CO EMAIL: humphrey@aimnet.com

OPTIONS FOR SOLUTION # 507.1 HOURLY WAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

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