What if we made unemployment compensation a loan?
The longer or more you've worked the higher the limit on the loan. Then you have to start paying it back after so long. You can pay it back through direct payments or through your tax refunds from the future.
That way someone in their 40s who gets laid off has 20+ years built up. If it takes them a year or two to get new job skills or whatever to be able to find a new position, then they can pay it back through their taxes - just have a little bit more withheld than would be normally.
Would people be so dependent on it then? Would they work harder to get off it?
August 3, 2009
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3 comments:
It essentially is already like that. By having a job, your employer is required to pay a certain amount into unemployment. It's part of the cost of you being employed by them. The more you work, the more your job puts in, in case they need to lay you off. It doesn't cover all the cost, but it does pay for 50% of extended unemployment benefits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Unemployment_Tax_Act
Interesting fact, Wisconsin was the first state to offer unemployment benefits.
Yep, and they also had to raise the amount of taxable payroll an extra $1500 per employee to cover the extended benefits. The expense is entirely the employer's responsibility. If the employee gets let go, they can screw up the former employer by dipping into the UE fund and then raising their rates. The rate is based off of reserve fund balance. I've seen rates as high as 9.5%. The employee doesn't ever have to pay in for it. Only the employer.
I'm just expressing frustration because the people that actually deserve the help - the people that just need it for a little while so they can get back up on their feet -are usually too proud to go and stand in a line. They are the ones doing everything they can to find a job so they don't have to use UE. I've seen so many people with their hand out, but they won't go to workshops to help with resumes or they think that a job is beneath them so they don't take it. If they had to pay it back, then they might not be so dependant.
UE is finite, even those that are gaming the system eventually have to go find a job.
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