Tax breaks are not the only strategy the government has come up with to fight unemployment. Unemployment benefits are a technique used to assist those out of work, but like the tax cuts, there are many concerns surrounding it. Unemployment benefits are provided by the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program and given to” eligible workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own (as determined under State law), and meet other eligibility requirements of State law.” The main goal of these benefits is to temporarily help those unemployed while they are looking for work. Weekly claims must be filed to receive benefits, which the State Unemployment Agency will examine. The issue surrounding these benefits was not whether they would help or not but how much they would cost. Republicans wanted a budget cut to go along with the proposed extensions, and so they continued to stall the signing of the bill. The video is a news report done right before many unemployed Americans were about to lose their benefits. The unemployment benefits extension was eventually signed in January of 2010. The video demonstrates how some Americans were desperately in need of assistance, but why many were hesitant to pass these extensions.
It is truly disheartening to see people who lose their job at no fault of their own. I believe there still are people that honestly try to secure jobs while on government assistance but I believe we are making the assistance a little too enticing for some of the unemployed. There is no doubt that we should help people stay on their feet while they try to secure another job but I believe that extending assistance to a year and a half is too much of a burden to taxpayers. With a struggling economy, we are all fighting for even the smallest jobs, but we are also trying to keep the country as a whole afloat. Providing assistance to the 9.8-15% of adults that are unemployed for extended amounts of time is just not financially reasonable. Furthermore, the assistance seems not to encourage people to really go out and try to find jobs, large or small. They can make enough money at home. While this is an extreme generalization, and does not apply to everyone who is unemployed, I believe it sums up the American version of unemployment.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that extending the unemployment benefits will create a greater burden on tax payers and will also further add to the national debt. However, not providing assistance to idle workers would cause far more problems. If 9.8% of unemployed Americans were suddenly cut off from their only form of income then they would have no way to support themselves or their families. Just imagine the panic and chaos caused by such an event. Also I just want to clarify this for you because you commented that the benefits don’t provide these idle workers to go out and find work, but this is incorrect. In order to continually receive benefits you must fill out an application each week and list all the jobs you have applied or interviewed for and show proof of these things. You also must list any job offers you turned down and why. Therefore, those who receive benefits have a great incentive to go out and look for work. The idea of unemployment benefits is to provide short term relief to the unemployed, but the current problem is that companies just aren’t hiring, so it is taking longer for people to find work. Unemployment benefits are of great help to idle workers, but I understand your opinion that the benefits should only be temporary. I do agree with you though. Those that are unemployed must try harder to find work and not just do the bare minimum to keep receiving benefits. They must meet the government half way. Maybe adding more requirements and stipulations to the application would ensure that the benefits are sent those truly deserving of them.
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