LogFAQs > #954043500

Entity13 posted...

No, the payments are if anything an eye opener that wages are far too low. Do not blame Unemployment, a system meant to aid people, for wages that are far below poverty levels.

I'm not blaming the institution of unemployment.
I'm blaming the bloated addition that Congress applied to it.
Let's say someone made $15/hr (the Democrat rallying cry for min. wage), worked a 40 hour per week schedule, and the state pays 50% the normal wage in unemployment insurance (UI), which seems to be the typical range of percentage.

$15/hr * 40 hr = $600
$600 / 2 = $300 per week in UI normally

But wait... the feds are kicking in another $300, so now you're dead even!
Except...you can make this $600 per week doing nothing. You don't have to incur the costs of working (transit, more expensive meals on the go, maintaining a wardrobe of work uniforms, etc...). And the UI money can have all the taxes deferred until tax day the following year (and some states are making the UI boost tax exempt).

There is no "competing" with that. This is an unnatural temporary situation created by Congress. It's not enough for the wage to even equal UI. It has to be significantly higher than UI to be worth actually going to work, because (shocker) work fucking sucks and most people only do it b/c they need the money.