Bernie Sanders to introduce bill that would guarantee every American a job, salary and health care

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), America’s foremost progressive lawmaker, announced a plan Monday that would guarantee a job and salary to any American "who wants or needs one." The move would bring a fringe liberal idea into the fold of the Democratic mainstream.

The plan has yet to be completed, but the Washington Post reported some of the proposal’s planned goals.

What does Sanders want to do?

According to the Post, the plan would guarantee a job or job training to any American who desires or needs one. The jobs would be for hundreds of public work projects, including infrastructure, the environment, education, “care giving," among other fields. More from the Post:

About 2,500 job training center and employment offices already exist around the country, and the plan imagines tasking them with connecting workers to these local projects. When the programs are up and running, anyone can wander into a job center and — at least, in theory — find either job training or a job on one of these projects.

The plan's authors envision millions of Americans being hired under the proposal, with the number going up during economic recessions in the private sector and down during economic booms. They also say it would significantly increase the government's involvement in the American economy to a level not seen since World War II, if ever in the country's history.

The plan declares that each job would come with a minimum $15-per-hour wage and the same medical, dental and vision benefits as federal government employees. Benefits would also include paid family and medical leave.

According to BuzzFeed, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also support the plan.

How much would the plan cost?

According to the Post, Sanders' office had not yet completed a cost estimate for the plan, nor do they know how it would be funded.

What did Sanders say?

Ari Rabin-Havt, one of Sanders' senior advisers, told BuzzFeed News: "This is about Democrats really working to develop big ideas — and being unshackled from this notion that we have to think small."

"It's moving forward on a major issue with people across the Democratic Party taking part in this discussion. If the debate in 2020 is about how big a jobs guarantee bill should be, that's a great thing," he explained.

Would the plan even work?

Likely not, as it would prove too costly to manage. As TheBlaze previously reported, Finland recently abandoned its universal income, which cost the country more than $33 million in just two years.