Indiana

Out of Work, Out of Luck!!!

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

A good friend of mine has been out of work for a while.  He’s been doing some things on the side to keep himself afloat, but he hit a wall a while back.    He was getting discouraged and then an opportunity to manage another friend’s business for a while came along.  It wasn’t something he was crazy about and he is overqualified to do it, but he went forward with taking the position anyway; both parties know it’s temporary, but it solves a need they both have.

When I look at the current unemployment rate of 9.6%, I wonder how much lower that would be if people would take jobs they weren’t crazy about.   There is new consternation that Congress did not move to extend unemployment benefits another three months.   Right now, you can get up to 99 weeks of unemployment.  That means you can be out of work for two years and still collect a check to sit around and pretend to look for work.

I have sympathy for people who are out of a job, but I don’t have 99 weeks worth of sympathy.  Indiana owes the federal government $2 billion in unemployment loans because it doesn’t collect enough in premiums and gives out too much in benefits.  The state is looking at raising premiums and cutting benefits as a way to solve that crisis.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of employers who will tell you they’re having trouble filling spots because a lot of these “unemployed” have found they can make more being unemployed rather than going to work.   Add to that, the longer an individual is out of work, the harder it is to get them back into the workforce.

I think the way to fix that is to decrease benefits over time.   An individual should be allowed a combined 52 weeks of unemployment over his or her lifetime.   And as each week passes, the amount of unemployment they collect should be reduced.   People need an incentive to go back to work and not get complacent.

And while I get it that the new job may not pay as much as the old job, but 70-80% of something is always better than 100% of nothing.   I’m not trying to be cruel.  I know what it’s like to be out of work.   I had my own stint of unemployment seven years ago.  It was for about three months, but I made sure “Abdul, Inc.” had enough resources coming in until I went back to work full-time.  Ironically enough it was playing radio talk show host.

Extending unemployment is not going to help someone out of work.   People will do whatever they can get away with for as long as they can.  And as long as people can take unemployment and get back to work, they will.  It’s time to start cutting some purse strings and some benefits.   Unemployment benefits should be a safety net, not a hammock.

And here’s a thought, if you’ve been out of work for 99 weeks, maybe the problem is you.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on November 21, 2010 (boomark / email).