Modernize the Social Contract
Create a 21st century social contract to catch all workers
- Problem: Technological disruption, automation, and new forms of work are rapidly reshaping the nature and structure of work. As our economy evolves and alternative work arrangements increase, including independent contractor models, more workers are being left out of the social contract that was built for traditional employer-employee relationships. Alternative workers generally do not have access to traditional employer-based benefits, like health insurance or retirement savings, and often have unequal or no access to many social safety net programs and protections.
- Solution: Congress must modernize the social contract to work in today’s economy in which the nature and structure of work continues to evolve. The NDC believes Congress should:
- Support innovation of and experimentation with benefits systems by local governments and the private sector
- Develop benefits models that work for all workers, including portable benefits systems that are worker-centric
- Modernize the government-sponsored safety net and protections to catch all workers
- More from the NDC’s Creating a 21st Century Social Contract.