February 15, 2012 by David K. Sutton
Hey Republicans, It’s Called Unemployment ‘Insurance’ For A Reason
When we are working we pay a premium to the government so that in the event of job loss we have “some” income paid in the form of unemployment insurance benefits until we can find a new job.
It’s Called Unemployment ‘Insurance’ For A Reason
In the wake of the worse economic downturn since the great depression we have many more people receiving this earned benefit, and for longer periods of time. When there is only 1 job for every 3 or 4 persons looking for a job you are going to have a lot of people receiving unemployment insurance benefits.
But Republicans see unemployment insurance as welfare and they want to put an end to it. They think people have no incentive to work when they receive this benefit. This thinking gets filed in the same folder as thinking the poor don’t have it so bad because they have refrigerators and microwaves. It’s Republican logic and it isn’t supposed to make sense.
Now Senate Republicans want to take it a step further. If they can’t get rid of unemployment insurance benefits then they are going force recipients to “volunteer” for those benefits. This would be equivalent to paying a health insurance premium but when you need that medical procedure done you must also put in some volunteer hours at the local hospital while you recuperate.
From Alternet – Senate Republicans Want to Force the Unemployed to Work For Free:
In recent months, Florida and South Carolina have talked about forcing people to “volunteer” for their unemployment insurance benefits, only to be told it was against federal law. Now, Senate Republicans want to change federal law to allow states to pass such laws but to require all long-term unemployed people to “volunteer” 20 hours a week to continue receiving benefits.
Sorry unemployed people! According to Republicans you only have yourself to blame anyway. You are only in this situation because you are an unmotivated, lazy freeloader. I know, you lost your job and that’s a bummer. I hear ya, I know it’s tough trying to make ends meet on that pittance of unemployment benefits. But Republicans need to make sure you are properly motivated and so they want you to “volunteer” 20 hours a week so that you can qualify for those benefits that you already paid for. Oh, and while you are at it, please piss in this jar.
I’m all for a public works program where the government directly employs thousands or even millions to work on infrastructure projects. That’s a win-win situation where millions gain employment working on projects that benefit the entire nation. What I’m not for is forcing people to work for an insurance benefit they have already paid for. Yes, we need to make sure people aren’t abusing these benefits and that they actually are looking for work, but we don’t need to punish people who lost their job and are trying to find a new job while also trying to get the bills paid.
GOP: Small government for us. Big government for you.
dks
