Unemployment Benefits in Michigan will cease.

[Hypestyles]

I wonder how many unemployed GOP-voters will be affected by this? curious...

[Sstashmoo]

Partisan rangling and finger pointing aside, this is a huge issue. 408,000 people that now draw some income will have lost it by the end of the year..

[Bearinabox]

The bottom line is this: Paying unemployment in the middle of a recession stimulates the economy. That's just what happens when you give money to people with an urgent and immediate need for basic necessities--they take the money and go spend it on basic necessities, because they don't have much of a choice unless they want to starve to death or have their lights turned off. We're not talking about lazy people who don't want to work or whatever, that's not even the issue here. The economy is in the shitter right now, and one proven strategy for improving it is to give unemployed people money. Give rich or middle-class people money at a time like this, they'll most likely hoard it because that's the rational thing to do when things are this uncertain--you want a bit of a cushion in case something bad happens.

Right now, the Republicans just need to put their ideology aside and do the sensible thing to help the economy recover, and then in a couple years when things get better we can revisit this stupid debate about who's entitled to what.

[lincoln8740]

I'll answer this one. Indefinitely! As long as our society isn't doing its job and providing benefits [[education, employment, etc.) to its citizens, then it should support them in various ways, including income. If there is a threat to our system by way of a revolution, or some other type of insurrection, you better believe that the 'powers that be', ie; our entrenched 'political class', will be jumping through hoops to kill or buy off the opposition. And it won't be because they have any care or concern for the less fortunate, it'll be because they are concerned about their own assess. Why do you think the police establishment in our country has now become part of the military establishment?

thanks for having the balls to give an actaul answer[[most folks around here feel the same way but hate saying that they really want a welfare state)

I wholeheartedly and unequivocally disagree with you though

my answer would be two years consecutively, then get off your ass and find a job any job.

[lincoln8740]

[quote=Bearinabox;159462]The bottom line is this: Paying unemployment in the middle of a recession stimulates the economy. That's just what happens when you give money to people with an urgent and immediate need for basic necessities--they take the money and go spend it on basic necessities, because they don't have much of a choice unless they want to starve to death or have their lights turned off. We're not talking about lazy people who don't want to work or whatever, that's not even the issue here. The economy is in the shitter right now, and one proven strategy for improving it is to give unemployed people money. [quote]

yes!!! welfare checks will get us out of the recession!!

[Bearinabox]

yes!!! welfare checks will get us out of the recession!!

Okay, you can either mock the way the economy actually works because it sounds counterintuitive to you, or you can come up with some actual policy suggestions that might help. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you've chosen the former; it's much easier, and requires neither intelligence nor courage.

[Jimaz]

...The economy is in the shitter right now, and one proven strategy for improving it is to give unemployed people money. Give rich or middle-class people money at a time like this, they'll most likely hoard it because that's the rational thing to do when things are this uncertain--you want a bit of a cushion in case something bad happens....

Which is exactly what the banks are doing with their bailout money -- hoarding it. The supposed plan was to free the banks from the credit crunch so they could resume lending thus preventing further damage to the economy. But once they secured the funds they changed the rules and decided to sit on it instead. I.e., no trickle-down for you, little taxpayers!

[Thames]

Volunteer work for the unemployed is an excellent idea. It looks good on the resume and it can lead to a paying job. It did for me, anyway. Try to do volunteer work that's in your field, but if you can't do that, volunteer anyway.

Unemployment benefits do not come from employees, it is only funded by employer unemployment taxes.

Two years is long enough for unemployment benefits. Two years is enough time to retrain if you can't find a job in the area you are already skilled in.

[Zacha341]

I've been hearing that if you're highly credentialed that must be concealed as much as possible to crawl back into the work force sometimes. Some are running multiple versions of their resumes... some containing full credentials and education, some just trimmed down to basic.

Sad to say, that if you are seeking receptionist or clerical temp work to tide you over, you will never get that work if an MBA is on your resume. Like you can't borrow money from the bank unless you have money. Crazy!

My husband has had no luck getting a new job in the IT field. He finally applied for a number of minimum wage type jobs and the ones who bothered to get back to him told him he was overqualified. Brilliant.

Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

[Zacha341]

Talk about "Panic in Detroit!" It is something to see the day when jobs would be so scarce. We are there people.....

Partisan rangling and finger pointing aside, this is a huge issue. 408,000 people that now draw some income will have lost it by the end of the year..

[Novine]

"my answer would be two years consecutively, then get off your ass and find a job any job."

Sounds like another clueless conservative. I know a lot of educated people out pounding the pavement for jobs in their area of expertise, outside their area of expertise and everything in between. Some have ended up taking dead-end jobs paying minimum wage or just above it. Where has that got them? Nowhere. They can't make enough money to pay the mortgage and put gas in the car and keep food on the table for their kids. Some are working multiple jobs just to keep their heads above the water. When they apply for jobs in their fields, the dead-end jobs are a black-eye on their resume. You act as if there are jobs a plenty waiting for everyone if they would just get off their couch and take it. I don't know where you're living but that's not the reality around here.

[jams]

I find it funny, I'm now a cook, despite all the years I put into a few other careers.

[Huggybear]

Your employer pays a rate based largely on its turnover and claims experience, starting at 2.7% up to a maximum of ~10% of payroll, and just up to the first $10K in wages paid to each employee. So your employer pays $1,000 a year for you, max. If it has few layoffs that result in claims, its rate can drift below 2% - meaning that it's $200 per employee per year. No wonder the system is broken; imagine how many months of benefits it takes for you to exhaust everything that has been paid on your behalf. Not long.

Uh... If you are collecting unemployment benefits then you already did work for that money. The state doesn't fund your unemployment benefits, it's your former employer who does.

[DetroitDad]

I have a different understanding of the American Dream. I don't think of America as a country that is obligated -- or who's government is obligated -- to provide for people. I look at it as a land of opportunity where people can choose their level of success based on how willing they are to work for it. My ideal for America is not a welfare agency, but a piece of land where people can live in freedom unencumbered by oppressive monarchs, tyrants, and Democrats. Businesses are born out of the will, desires, and needs of the people. If you don't think that businesses are doing a good enough job serving the people, start your own business in competition with them and put them out of business. This, too, is part of the American Dream.

There are plenty of businesses in Detroit and Michigan who are hiring, they can't find qualified people who are willing to work, and/or can blend in with the company culture fast enough.

[oladub]

Borrowing money from China to hand out unemployment benefits is not a Constitutionally delegated power of the federal government. We would be lucky if the federal government would instead just get out of agreements which export our jobs and stop tolerating millions of illegal foreign workers and their employers.

States, however, are free to extend unemployment benefits for as long as their voters wish. States could also scale back some licensing requirements so more unemployed people could support themselves without breaking a law. If anyone wants to get mad at Republicans for thwarting the expansion of unemployment benefits, do so at the state level.

[Bearinabox]

There are plenty of businesses in Detroit and Michigan who are hiring, they can't find qualified people who are willing to work, and/or can blend in with the company culture fast enough.

Michigan doesn't have 14% unemployment because people "can't blend with the company culture fast enough." What does that even mean? Do you blend with company culture like you blend an iPhone?

[Zacha341]

Many... including the indies and those who claim no partisan affiliation or loyalty to a party.

The rains gonna fall on the just and the unjust with this one... the repubs and dem purse string clutchers know this! If the repub gallows can do the broad sweep and take the full blame while the "companion" party appears to remain white glove clean, job well done! Hoo-hah to those who are really ok with this withstanding the specifically cited hangman - this go around!!!!

Thus the partisan blame thing is not ringing quite pure as many think!

Quiet as kept some within the power elite democratic circle are thankful the repubs are pulling this string. Saves them the bad "face" of having to do it, so as to have more funds to spread to their preferred big business constituency, and endorsed federal programs etc. by way of outcome and result.

I wonder how many unemployed GOP-voters will be affected by this? curious...

[Zacha341]

Well stated. It's a complex issue, over-simplified by simply stating or beleiving that the "big-bad" rich repubs just want to keep all the money. See my comments above to that end. [[ps. I am not a republican).

Borrowing money from China to hand out unemployment benefits is not a Constitutionally delegated power of the federal government. We would be lucky if the federal government would instead just get out of agreements which export our jobs and stop tolerating millions of illegal foreign workers and their employers.

States, however, are free to extend unemployment benefits for as long as their voters wish. States could also scale back some licensing requirements so more unemployed people could support themselves without breaking a law. If anyone wants to get mad at Republicans for thwarting the expansion of unemployment benefits, do so at the state level.

[Zacha341]

Precisely. It is not an infinite fund. Been there done that re. receiving unemployment... in both cases I was able to find work within a year, just barely.... but it was a grueling process. I had to adapt greatly and finding work became a full time job. Crazy!

Your employer pays a rate based largely on its turnover and claims experience, starting at 2.7% up to a maximum of ~10% of payroll, and just up to the first $10K in wages paid to each employee. So your employer pays $1,000 a year for you, max. If it has few layoffs that result in claims, its rate can drift below 2% - meaning that it's $200 per employee per year. No wonder the system is broken; imagine how many months of benefits it takes for you to exahaust everything that has been paid on your behalf. Not long.

[Zacha341]

Indeed it is extremely hard to find work, I do volunteer work to help youth and adults write and present resumes.

Due to the economy in the recent past I have work as many as four jobs at once [[one a legitimate work from home - a rarity as most are scams) one a week-ender, one a evening and one a full time day job just to maintain! It is crazy! The combo is often needed to pay what the one job once did!

Multiple resumes help as the dead-end jobs sometimes will mar your resume [[been there, done that!). Or if you work for temp agency, list the agency instead of the specific "dead-end" places. Or name the places instead of the "temp agency" if the temp agency sounds low-rent and dead-end [[Manpower for example).

If you've worked several temp jobs over say a span of three years at a temp agency that will lengthen your resume in an unfavorable manner [[two many short length jobs), instead list a single time span with the specific temp agency, with the assignments listed under the description. That will look better.

It's a wild ride indeed and requires a great deal of work, including leaving Michigan which sadly some have opted to do.

Sounds like another clueless conservative. I know a lot of educated people out pounding the pavement for jobs in their area of expertise, outside their area of expertise and everything in between. Some have ended up taking dead-end jobs paying minimum wage or just above it. Where has that got them? Nowhere. They can't make enough money to pay the mortgage and put gas in the car and keep food on the table for their kids. Some are working multiple jobs just to keep their heads above the water. When they apply for jobs in their fields, the dead-end jobs are a black-eye on their resume. You act as if there are jobs a plenty waiting for everyone if they would just get off their couch and take it. I don't know where you're living but that's not the reality around here.

[Bearinabox]

It's a complex issue, over-simplified by simply stating or beleiving that the "big-bad" rich repubs just want to keep all the money.

Oh, I don't think that. It's all politics. The Republicans know as well as anyone that these policies will work, and that's why they're so adamant about blocking them. If the economy recovers, it will make Obama and the Democrats look good, and any hope the Republicans have of picking up seats in November will fly straight out the window. If the Republicans prevent the economy from recovering, they can paint the Democrats as ineffectual and incompetent, and people will vote Republican by default. Everyone who's getting screwed over by the ongoing economic malaise is just collateral damage.

[Zacha341]

Yep, it is something to watch. More sausage being made. Ugly indeed.

Oh, I don't think that. It's all politics. The Republicans know as well as anyone that these policies will work, and that's why they're so adamant about blocking them. If the economy recovers, it will make Obama and the Democrats look good, and any hope the Republicans have of picking up seats in November will fly straight out the window. If the Republicans prevent the economy from recovering, they can paint the Democrats as ineffectual and incompetent, and people will vote Republican by default. Everyone who's getting screwed over by the ongoing economic malaise is just collateral damage.

[313WX]

There are plenty of businesses in Detroit and Michigan who are hiring, they can't find qualified people who are willing to work, and/or can blend in with the company culture fast enough.

No, the problem is they can't find young 20-something year old people with college degrees [[masters or greater) and/or 20 years of experience who are willing to work for slave wage or less [[that is from minimum wage to $10 an hour) while doing over a 100 things at once.

The other reason is many of them just want to hire in their relatives for the position or someone they can use as a sex toy [[indirect of course).

The fourth alternative lately is that small businesses will hire in desperate/ill-informed high school children or college students with the title of a[[n) volunteer or intern to avoid not only paying taxes on them but probably to pay them less than a waiter's wage while forcing them to do the most menial jobs they have.

[Bearinabox]

Yep, it is something to watch. More sausage being made. Ugly indeed.

The problem with that analogy is that, if made properly, sausage ends up tasting pretty good. This "party of no" thing won't end well for anyone except Republican politicians. It's simply one of the many instances in which bad policy makes good politics, something we in Metro Detroit have more experience with than most.

[iheartthed]

Your employer pays a rate based largely on its turnover and claims experience, starting at 2.7% up to a maximum of ~10% of payroll, and just up to the first $10K in wages paid to each employee. So your employer pays $1,000 a year for you, max. If it has few layoffs that result in claims, its rate can drift below 2% - meaning that it's $200 per employee per year. No wonder the system is broken; imagine how many months of benefits it takes for you to exhaust everything that has been paid on your behalf. Not long.

That's true, but we're also experiencing the close to the worst case scenario of unemployment situations right now. Unemployment hovering at 10% for 2 years was unthinkable just 3 years ago. So the tax structure was enough to fund the unemployment claims in the past. Not so much when people are on extended unemployment out of necessity.

[[And for those who will attempt to claim otherwise, yes this is necessity. Nationwide, only 13,000 private sector jobs were added in May. The private sector only started showing a net gain in jobs added in March or April of this year, after losing 8 million jobs during last year's recession. You do the math on how many months of adding 13,000 jobs/month it will take to restore 8 million jobs.)