Don't Extend Unemployment

Once in my life I was laid off and drew unemployment benefits. Before the crazy wacko's in the swamp say that I'm a hypocrite for speaking out against them when I took them, let me point out the way that unemployment benefits are paid. Roughly, my employer takes the money they would be giving me every paycheck and instead gives it to the government to hold, with no interest paid. When the employer has to let me go, the government then gives me the money that it took from me in the form of unemployment benefits, minus the loss that money would have made as an investment and minus the cost of administering this program. So I don't have any problem drawing on my own money for a while.

The key here is for a while- after a certain point, I would be drawing more out of the system then I paid in. That's okay too, up to a point, if you consider unemployment benefits as an insurance program against losing a job- some people will draw out more money, just like in healthcare, and others will pay more in- it's a gamble.

Currently, Michigan provides unemployment benefits for up to 79 weeks, or about a year and a half. I know the economy is poor, but if you were desperate enough for the money, you could find a job after one and a half year's of looking- even if the job was in the food service industry or retail industry. You might have to adjust your lifestyle, but there are jobs out there that would put a small roof over your head and food on your plate.

Michigan Democrats feel that this isn't enough time though, and want to extend unemployment benefits out to 105 weeks- over two years.

I'm no expert in economics, but let me explain how this will work. Instead of being forced to seek gainful employment in jobs that people feel are 'beneath them', and instead of changing their lifestyle to a more reasonable level, people will continue to sit on unemployment, draining the system of money without adding back into it. At a certain point, more people will draw out of the system than draw in, and the system will began to crash. And when it crashes, it will then have to be supported by tax money. That tax money will come from those employed and from businesses, and that will lead to more unemployment. More people on unemployment, for a long time, higher taxes, etc. The government, in its attempt to help out people, will create a loop on unintended consequences of bad- just like they have in Michigan.

The harder the government has worked to get Michigan out of its crisis, the more Michigan has deepened and lengthened its crisis. The only way out now is through faith- faith in people, faith in the unseen hand of the market, and faith that when challenged to get a job, people will respond by doing jobs out there that need to be done.

The Democrat's proposal also has other bad parts to it- providing benefits to people with jobs (part-time) and giving benefits to those who have lost part-time jobs. If passed, it will hurt our economy.

Extending unemployment benefits, just like nationalizing the healthcare, are the road of good intentions. My grandma always used to tell me where that road took people.