Unemployment Extension
There has been a lot of talk about extending unemployment insurance beyond the usual state run 26 week program. I'm sure a lot of folks who are against the extension of benefits for those that have exhausted their benefits probably feel that even the 26 week program is too long and keeps people from actually looking for work. Others feel that we should not borrow money from China to pay for the benefits.
This is not a first for government. One of the biggest reasons we have so much debt on the government level is that we have more than a few programs that are passed without dedicated funding sources. Wars, drug programs, and even programs like Medicare are expanded without a clear path that explains how programs will be paid for. Growth will pay for it. Indeed growth will help. If the economy is expanding and people are working and paying taxes the need for UI, food stamps and other programs will be lessened.
A small number of folks with assets or a second income in the family probably are more picky about taking a job that pays less than they made in their previous line of work. Some people will never go back to their previous occupation because of technology or their jobs moved overseas.
The unemployment rate is not 4.5%. There are a shortage of jobs for which folks are qualified and which pay $10.00 or more in a lot of places. Not everyone can relocate to North Dakota and if they did the housing situation would eat up their wages.
Retraining isn't cheap and isn't always successful. Simple time limits on benefits doesn't seem to work for individuals living where the unemployment rate is high and jobs are in short supply.
We need to be more creative and less dogmatic in our approach to employment policy. A lot of folks would benefit from more rigorous job search requirements, relocation assistance and if necessary even a work experience type program to target the longest of the long term unemployed.
Vilifying those without a job doesn't work make finding work easier and this is what we are doing when employers don't really consider the the long term unemployed for jobs, simply because they have been out of work for a long time.
This is not a first for government. One of the biggest reasons we have so much debt on the government level is that we have more than a few programs that are passed without dedicated funding sources. Wars, drug programs, and even programs like Medicare are expanded without a clear path that explains how programs will be paid for. Growth will pay for it. Indeed growth will help. If the economy is expanding and people are working and paying taxes the need for UI, food stamps and other programs will be lessened.
A small number of folks with assets or a second income in the family probably are more picky about taking a job that pays less than they made in their previous line of work. Some people will never go back to their previous occupation because of technology or their jobs moved overseas.
The unemployment rate is not 4.5%. There are a shortage of jobs for which folks are qualified and which pay $10.00 or more in a lot of places. Not everyone can relocate to North Dakota and if they did the housing situation would eat up their wages.
Retraining isn't cheap and isn't always successful. Simple time limits on benefits doesn't seem to work for individuals living where the unemployment rate is high and jobs are in short supply.
We need to be more creative and less dogmatic in our approach to employment policy. A lot of folks would benefit from more rigorous job search requirements, relocation assistance and if necessary even a work experience type program to target the longest of the long term unemployed.
Vilifying those without a job doesn't work make finding work easier and this is what we are doing when employers don't really consider the the long term unemployed for jobs, simply because they have been out of work for a long time.
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