I just read this article in Dollars and Sense magazine. It discusses Agrentina’s experiment with job creation while also exploring the possibilities of the Employer of last Resort Proposal, a government job plan somewhat similar to the WPA. Although much explored, public folklore’s deep roots with the WPA has always inspired and interested me. I wonder what models for our own work can be found in the WPA and the murals, archives, and books they left behind? Sure it was a flawed program. But flawed models are still models and they can be used and rethought. Mistakes can be learned from. Similarly, the Employer of Last Resort Proposal seems to be something folklorists should know more about– a key economic issue for those of us working at the intersection of local economies and cultural production.
I am particularly interested in the last few sentences of the article. Noting that to be anti-poverty anti-war, and anti-environmental degradation is to be anti-capitalism, the author also states:
“But it is fair to ask: shouldn’t we also champion living wage laws, a stronger social safety net for those who cannot or should not be expected to work, and universal health care—as well as an end to imperialist wars of aggression, environmentally unsustainable practices, and the degradation of work? In sum, shouldn’t we seek to alleviate the symptoms of capitalism, even as we work toward a better economic system?”
This question is important for all of us to ask. But it also seems to me there is a fundamental connection between the folklore of our daily lives and the pride and sense of self and community we obtain and perpetuate when we engage in creative community work–work that builds up the community rather than tears it down. Sure, it’s idealistic to see work this way. It’s also holistic. A close sister-friend once mentioned to me something about the sacred nature of work. I have never forgotten that. It seems this Proposal is something folklorists should be curious about and active within. Rather than only looking at ways that folklore organizations can help local artists be more competitive, what if we also explored economic proposals that benefited the community as a whole? It might sound out there and radical to some of our funders, but it also sounds useful to the arts community as a whole (just to name one community).
So, are there folklorists or ethnographers out there working on Proposal?
What are your thoughts? Experiences?
ARTICLE:
“A New WPA?: An Introduction to the Employer of Last Resort” by Ryan A Dodd. In the magazine, Dollars and Sense, The Magazine of Economic Justice.