A couple of months ago the Not Working Project partnered with Rep. John Conyers to arrange a congressional briefing on the labor crisis in the US. Bridgette Lacy was one of the Not Working Project participants who was involved in that briefing. As many of you know, Bridgette turned her own experience with unemployment into a regular column on the subject for the News & Observer in Raleigh.

Bridgette wrote a column about her experience in Washington D.C. and I encourage everyone to read it. Bridgette is a first class reporter (she always knows the illuminating questions to ask) and a communicative writer. The fact that she followed up with her own congressional representative and confirmed that he was not present at the hearing is dispiriting but Bridgette’s call to contact the congressman’s office about this is a productive and actionable step for those who share her district.

I encouraged everyone to find out if your representative in congress supports Rep. Conyers bill to set up a full employment trust fund (using taxes on high end investments such as credit default swaps) to guarantee that any American who is willing to work can have a job. What is the argument against this idea? Why can’t the richest nation in the world assure its citizenry the right to work? Somehow this idea is so far off from conventional wisdom of what might be possible in Washington. If your representative has not yet signed on to support the bill, please reach out and encourage her or him to do so.

Onward.