There has been a heated debate over the issue of unemployment benifits and universal health care and welfare and tax breaks. I cannot think of any better way of saying it but like John Wayne as G.W. McClintock in McClintock
Devlin Warren: Step down off that carriage, mister!
George Washington McLintock: [Swings and McLintock and gets thrown to the ground] Hold that hog leg! I've been punched many a time in my life but never for hirin' anyone.
Devlin Warren: I ...don't know what to say. Never begged before. Turned my stomach. I suppose I should have been grateful that you gave me the job.
George Washington McLintock: Gave? Boy, you've got it all wrong. I don't give jobs I hire men.
Drago: You intend to give this man a full day's work, don'tcha boy?
Devlin Warren: You mean you're still hirin' me? Well, yes, sir, I certainly deliver a fair day's work.
George Washington McLintock: And for that I'll pay you a fair day's wage. You won't give me anything and I won't give you anything. We both hold up our heads. Is that your plug?
Devlin Warren: Yes sir.
George Washington McLintock: Well, hop on him and we'll go get your gear.
Joe: This is an interesting issue. In my experience, the workers who draw UI are a different crowd than those receiving welfare, so I expect it's a different discussion for each group as to their employment status. As you may know, in order to qualify for UI, you have to work a certain number of quarters and meet a minimum threshold of earnings. It was a benefit originally designed to address cyclical unemployment--not structural unemployment--in other words, people unemployed due to temporary layoff or work slowdowns. It was never meant to deal with the challenges of long-term economic recession and chronically high unemployment. And it's certainly no substitute for a good paying job. In Indiana the maximum weekly benefit is $390 (less than $10/hr for a 40 hr week). As it is, only about 40% of unemployed people even qualify for UI, and, in many states, earnings from part-time employment are not considered when determining if someone has met the earnings threshold. UI recipients are required to register for work and to show evidence of job search, though to your point, I expect there are those who go through the motions of job search without any intention of working. I think they are probably the exception and not the rule because, as I noted, this is a benefit designed for people who are used to working for a living. Otherwise they wouldn't qualify. The latest proposed federal extension targets an even smaller segment of workers. –Tom Orr
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