The Employment Act

The Employment Act of 1946 was a definitive attempt by the federal government to develop macroeconomic policy. Future economic policy was allowed to grow beyond the constitutionally defined realm of monetary and trade control and into the national economy at-large. Although Congress removed all of the quantitative markers from the final incarnation of the law, the act keeps the original spirit intact and encourages the federal government to "promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power." This clause set the foundations for future cooperation and communication between the federal government and private enterprise. The act requires the President to submit an annual economic report within ten days of the submission of the national budget that forecasts the future state of the economy, including employment, production, capital formation, and real income statistics. This, as the act names it, sets forth future economic goals of the country and offers suggestions on how to attain it, a marked compromise from the original bill's focus on compensatory spending. The act creates thecouncil of economic advisior, an appointed advisory board that will advise and assist the President in formulating economic policy. It also creates thejoint economic comeetee, a committee composed of both senators and representatives instructed to review the government's economic policy at least annually.