Federal Unemployment Benefits are Just Not Enough

Sadly, there are a lot of people unhappy that non-essential workers are getting a $600 bonus to their unemployment. When I say a lot of people, what I mean is there are a few unhappy people that are just being loud and making a lot of noise about it.

These tend to be low-wage workers that are mad that they still have to work while the unemployed are temporarily making more than they make. 

Some have called for an added bonus to their paychecks for doing the same low wage job they signed up for that wasn’t really substantially changed at all by the pandemic.

Then there are healthcare workers, those that are in some way shape or form in direct line and may have an added risk of contracting the virus. 

A lot of these professionals make more than what the unemployment pays but there are some that do not.

Most of you reading this can probably agree that essential workers not in the direct line of the virus should receive no added pay bonus.

Some of you might think that they should be grateful that they still have a job.

But what about those on the front line?

Should they receive some type of hazard pay like our soldiers do when they are deployed to battle?

In Michigan you are allowed to quit your job due to COVID-19 and still receive unemployment. If the CARES Act is supposed to be equally applied, then this should be the case in every state.

If the above is true, then do you think people should still be able to get hazard pay or an added bonus to their paychecks when they have the right to quit and receive benefits?

The thing people are overlooking is that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the median income for a full time worker is $936 a week.

With the $600 bonus most workers who can’t max out the state unemployment will still be making less than median income.Higher wage earners that were forced to stay home might be able to get about the median rate.

But the median is right smack dab in the middle.

That means over half of America was making more than that.

So what about these people? 

Should they also get additional pay?

To no fault of their own they were ordered to stay home and basically go bankrupt.

Consider someone who put in the schooling and effort to make 100k a year that had 50k in expenses that was forced to stay home and can no longer pay their bills even though they were living conservatively.

That’s an exaggerated example because most people aren’t living off only half of their income. 

A lot above median are living paycheck to paycheck still.

Bankrupt is still bankrupt no matter what your income is. 

We are likely going to be facing a major bankruptcy pandemic in the next year unless more stimulus money comes or the economy magically recovers millions of jobs.

The only people that may have a job after this is all said and done ARE the essential workers, and having a job has a far greater value than temporarily receiving benefits, otherwise, a lot of those workers would quit and take the unemployment.

So while people are being ruthless about people catching a windfall who were making less than unemployment, let’s remember that a lot of those people were already catching a windfall through tax credits, food stamps, and various other programs.

Not all of them, but a lot of them. 

On average the bottom 50% of earners pay almost no income tax at all because of the various credits and deductions.  If you’re in that bracket, you may not even be aware you’re catching a windfall already, essential or non-essential.

If you’re the special exception to the case, I am sorry, blanket policies are never fair to everyone, and there are always special cases.

With the high-wage tax-paying non-essential employees out of work and possibly no longer having a job to return to, we are all in for a world of hurt.

The loss of tax revenue alone is going to be devastating. 

So I fixed the meme up a bit for you to show what’s really going on.