Surdna-Funded Study Calls for Targeted Federal Policies to Create Quality Jobs
To reverse economic trends that have left many American workers behind, smart, targeted public policies that encourage private-sector investment in the creation of quality jobs are needed, a report from Pacific Community Ventures finds.
Funded by the Surdna Foundation, the report, Public Policy and Investments in Good Quality Jobs: Ideas for Policy Change (67 pages, PDF), examined five federal programs and systems that could be recalibrated so as to direct more capital to businesses offering high-quality employment opportunities — the New Markets Tax Credit Program, the Community Reinvestment Act, Small Business Administration programs, the General Services Administration's federal procurement system, and Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure.
Changes recommended by the report's authors include modifying tax-credit selection criteria, varying loan terms, and creating a tax credit set-aside for job-creating businesses; creating a public dashboard that captures financial institution investment in meeting communities' credit needs; analyzing data on the quality of jobs supported by SBA programs and tying SBA loan eligibility to job-quality standards; giving priority to companies creating quality jobs when awarding government contracts; and requiring certain U.S.-based publicly traded companies to report on quality job metrics. . .