Unemployment line

It certainly would make the private sector pay better to get quality employees if people weren't so desperate.

Exactly. Even though the jobs in a Job Guarantee would not compete with those of private employers, the fact that a worker could leave a bad workplace in the morning and enter the JG that afternoon forces bad employers to step up. It, also, means that those stuck in blighted communities could pack up and leave for better communities knowing that employment and a livable wage + benefits is waiting wherever they choose to live. https://www.pavlina-tcherneva.net/job-guarantee-faq