A thought on unemployment benefits
YukonBound wrote:
"nom=de=plume" wrote in message
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"Charles C." wrote in message
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While watching Keith Olberman's "Countdown" show last evening in
which he featured a segment on a couple who had lost their jobs, I
had a thought on how the unemployment insurance programs might be
modified.
The husband had worked in the auto parts industry all his adult life
but his job was eliminated. Despite efforts to find a new, similar
job he, like many, had found that his job was gone, not to return.
He acknowledged finding a new job, requiring him to start over in a
new career and at a low starting wage. He freely admitted that it
did not make sense for him to take the new job because he was better
off financially collecting unemployment benefits. He wants to work,
but has to do the best thing money-wise to keep his house, etc.
Many are in the same boat.
Since many jobs are gone for good and people are going to have to
start new careers with lower pay due to little or no experience, my
thought was this:
Rather than continue to extend full unemployment benefits during
this critical economy, structure the unemployment funding as a
subsidy to the new, lower pay scale common to a new job in which one
has no experience. Benefits would be tied to the last year's
earnings before being layed off. The combined new job pay and the
subsidized income from the unemployment fund would equal some
percentage (say 75-90 percent) of the previous income. This benefit
would last for a period of 2 years ... sufficient time to become
trained and knowledgeable in the new job.
This would cut the amount of money currently being paid out in
unemployment benefits, provide an incentive for new jobs resulting
in lower unemployment.
Note: This is a totally non-partisan idea. No blame cast on the
left or right.
This basic concept has been talked about for a long time. I find it
truly loony that if you say you're in school, e.g., training for a
new career, you're unemployment benefits suffer. Of course, this
would be unpopular, mainly because it's a complicated explanation...
not that it doesn't make some sense.
Welcome back Ms Plume.
Your legion of admirers sure did miss you..................... you are
all they could talk about.
Did you buy a boat?
I probably won't see your reply until late Monday. We're taking mom
and my oldest sister to beautiful Cape Breton.
My youngest sister and her husband will meet us there as we visit my
#3 sister.
Gag
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