The Republican leadership thinks the recession can be ended by rousting lazy employees from the hammock of dependency and forcing them back to work. That’s stupid. The recession is being driven by a lack of demand, not supply, and the supposedly lazy workers don’t have jobs waiting for them.
That said, there is something basically obnoxious about paying people more to stay home than to work. It sounds like something from a Marx Brothers movie. To that end, I would suggest the following changes to the system:
- CUT OFF FEDERAL FUNDS IN STATES WHERE THE MARKET IS WORKING PROPERLY: Not every state has huge virus problems or high unemployment. Based on historical averages, I think 6 or 7 percent should be the threshold, but that is open to debate.
- REDUCE THE PAYMENTS SOMEWHAT: Logically, the payments should be tied to previous wage levels, but most state unemployment compensation systems aren’t sophisticated enough to deal with that amount of data with the speed required under the circumstances. That means using an axe when a rapier would be more appropriate. $400 a week in federal benefits should give the vast majority of the unemployed enough to live on, when combined with state benefits.