Front and center on congress's to do list is the decision concerning whether to extend the absurdly high unemployment benefits the fed is currently adding to state benefits as part of the CARES Act. When it comes to this issue, I lean toward the Republican point of view.
Fully 20% of recipients of both state and federal benefits are now earning twice as much for sitting on their asses as they were working. And half are taking home as much or more as they were while employed. This is not a formula for incentivizing workers to return to their jobs.
Ask yourself "who exactly are the people the government is so overpaying?" Looking at the math, it's workers at the lowest end of the earning spectrum. Just for example...let's say you're a New Yorker who earned $250/week for 40 weeks and then got laid off due to the corona virus. Guess how much you're now receiving in unemployment benefits! $700/week! Can you believe that? At $500/week? About $800! In fact, the number at which you'll receive the same amount in benefits as you did working is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000/week. And if you make over that, you'll actually earn less than you did at work from your benefits.
So essentially, what we have is part time and/or unskilled workers getting over. Ya know...people who mostly hate their jobs and don't want to work them in the first place getting paid to not work! Amazing! Only in America.
You can tell by now that I'm four square against extending these benefits. I think it's ridiculous that the government even implemented this mess. But get this: My unskilled job for which I didn't even need to complete the first grade pays $700/week and ends on August 15th. By the numbers, I will be eligible for at least $161/week for 26 weeks from the State. And you know considering how much money the feds took from me, I want every penny to which I'm entitled!
But while I'm completely against extending the federal supplement in theory, I find myself conflicted because my unemployment benefits will be $761/week when I get laid off if the federal supplement is extended. So where do I stand?
I'm going to cop out with a seriously lame rationale that our fearless leader would applaud. Donald Trump does everything in his own self interest. America voted him in and I'm going to follow his lead. To hell with the greater good. Show me the money. I worked a lousy job and I qualify. I want my money. Period. I care about me and taking care of number one. Thanks, Donnie. You've shown me the way and I now see the light.
Then perhaps the "unskilled" labor force should be paid a living wage in the first place such that $600 a week is more than they were making. The fact that that could even be a statement is absurd in and of itself. It doesn't matter if your unskilled job that didn't require first grade to complete results in you getting 600 a week, the employer decided it was a task meaningful enough that they needed a labor force for and trying to rationalize paying this labor force substandard wages especially when the cost of living varies state to state and city to city. To live reasonably comfortably as a young single adult in NYC, a salary of 40k before taxes is the minimum guideline. 600 a week puts you 9k below that. Making even less than that is just plum retarded.
ReplyDeleteI think you meant "is LESS than they're making." But anyway...Americans are spoiled and entitled. Go almost anywhere else in the world and the same job buys you significantly less than it does in the USA.
ReplyDeleteThis might interest you regarding this specific topic: https://news.yale.edu/2020/07/27/yale-study-finds-expanded-jobless-benefits-did-not-reduce-employment
ReplyDeleteChicago's Federal Reserve went even further and their study on the subject concluded that people receiving unemployment benefits as a result of the CARES Act was MORE likely to look for a job.