Should 99 weeks be the limit for unemployment insurance? - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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Should 99 weeks be the limit for unemployment insurance

Yes - 99 weeks is long enough for all but the most extreme cases
5
29%
No - If people want more time, give them more time
5
29%
Other - please elaborate
7
41%
#13907959
When the economy crashed in 2008 I was laid off. So I grabbed a broom and started sweeping. I was thankful for the opportunity, and I worked hard. That gig turned into management.

Recentlly I was laid off again, so I applied to positions in and around my career fields and within 2 weeks I had a new job, pay raise, and increased benefits.

My point: if you're willing to work, there are jobs.

We spend about $165 billion a year on federal unemployment insurance. Some folks have been drawing these benefits for 99 WEEKS!
We spend about $80 billion a year on federal food stamps. Over 40 million Americans receive food stamps.
We have over 1.5 million unfilled jobs in this country right now.

If you are willing to work hard for $22K per year, there are jobs aplenty. Grab a mop.
If you are willing to get re-trained in the fields of software or medical assistance, there are jobs aplenty.
If you are willing to move to a place like Dallas or Austin or North Dakota...

So WTF, people?
#13907964
Sounds like a really stupid society.

"...willing to work..."

There's your problem. People are willing to live. The economy falls apart when people compete so hard they don't think before they act. The result is an uncoordinated society where supply doesn't meet demand. Instead, people just supply labor without concern over who's demanding consumption.

There's no point to anything you described above about mopping, sweeping, and management other than mindless industrial capacity. Might as well replace the entire workforce with a bunch of robots. There wouldn't be a moral difference between nuking one society system or the other.

People need to go to church and get their grace back.
#13907978
Other: Unemployment insurance should exist indefinitely, but, after 3 months should come with requirements, such as going for education (getting a GED, getting an AA, becoming a certified welder, getting a CDL, something along those lines) or mandated government work (cleaning the side of roads, repainting people's buildings that have been spray painted, etc).
#13907981
Other: Unemployment insurance should be replaced with a mandatory savings scheme. If the money from that runs out, the government should offer workfare for long-term unemployed people, as a stepping stone to real employment.
#13907993
You guys sound like capitalists who are trying to inhibit consciousness by offering drudgery just so people have something to do. On top of that, they can "afford" to eat, clothe, and house themselves, and remain unsophisticated enough to sit down and shut up after a "good day's work"...

...ALL so they can retain their "dignity".

I guess I like it. Keep up the good work. No art for you. :lol:
#13908013
Daktoria wrote:You guys sound like capitalists who are trying to inhibit consciousness by offering drudgery just so people have something to do. On top of that, they can "afford" to eat, clothe, and house themselves, and remain unsophisticated enough to sit down and shut up after a "good day's work"...

...ALL so they can retain their "dignity".

I guess I like it. Keep up the good work. No art for you. :lol:


not sure if I'm included in here but...

are you coming out against work? I mean...what is wrong with an honest day's work?

Having the opportunity to earn one's keep, to feed clothe and house oneself...is a luxury we enjoy in the west that billions elsewhere are completely denied. In addition, giving a person the freedom to be self-sufficient would seem a path to imbelish consciousness, whereas welfare checks would seem to be the path to inhibiting it. And these are the two options we have in the real world: welfare checks or work.
#13908426
You were lucky to find a job, not many others are that lucky. There is no point getting a job sweeping when you don't even earn enough to pay one bill. It could work out that being on welfare is a lot more beneficial.
#13908433
Other - please elaborate


If people need more time give them more time.

No - If people want more time, give them more time


Where does this want come from? People are are unemployed because they don't want to work. They are unemployed because they can't get work.
#13908614
Arkady2009 wrote:You were lucky to find a job, not many others are that lucky. There is no point getting a job sweeping when you don't even earn enough to pay one bill. It could work out that being on welfare is a lot more beneficial.

Welfare pays significantly less than even bottom of the barrel jobs; if it didn't the government couldn't possibly afford it. Additionally, the poll is designed from a perspective of social benefit rather than personal benefit. The social safety net benefits those on it, at the expense of everyone who has to pay them to do nothing.

Publius, reskilling is a good idea for those.
#13908962
Arkady2009 wrote:You were lucky to find a job, not many others are that lucky. There is no point getting a job sweeping when you don't even earn enough to pay one bill. It could work out that being on welfare is a lot more beneficial.


Well like I said I started at the bottom and quickly rose to management...can't do that sitting on your couch collecting welfare

As a manager I was able to hire my mom's long time friend and her son who needed extra work as well. So my willingness to get off my ass and work hard for very low wages created economic opportunities for more than just me. I was a job creator with lint in my pockets and I had shitloads of self respect.

Additionally I created side projects associated with promoting my former company and those projects created some additional revenue, business contacts, new friends new lovers and a higher quality of life than sitting on the couch eating cheetos

idk...i feel that if a person has the opportunity to make $22K per year sweeping a floor, or $12K a year sitting on their ass...why are we giving them free money? Hand them a toilet brush and tell them to create value in the world. Clean toilets retains customers.
#13908975
Decky wrote:
Where does this want come from? People are are unemployed because they don't want to work. They are unemployed because they can't get work.


All of them are legitimately unable to find work? Bullshit.

I am shocked so many have suggested it is reasonable to expect folks would rather draw welfare checks than work a shitty low paying job. THAT IS EXACTLY MY POINT! We should not be giving them the welfare, they should be doing the shitty job! Shitty jobs need to get done, and our lazy american refusal to do them leads to illegal immigration, urban decay, and hundreds of billions of dollars flushed down the drain every year while skills atrophe and the conditions for riots and crime fester and grow.

Work! Nobody owes you a full stomach and a warm bed, earn it! Have some self-respect. WTF is happening to our culture? How do you think we became the most powerful and envied country in the world (other than stumbling upon vast, untapped resources?) we WORKED HARD! Sometimes for no pay! (lol, j/k) No seriously...life is not fair, nobody asked you to be born, I don't owe anybody shit. I want to respect you as a person, I dont' want you to be a worthless sack of shit living in my city. I want you to self-actualize. You're never going to do that sitting on the couch eating cheetos. Work!
#13909102
idk...i feel that if a person has the opportunity to make $22K per year sweeping a floor, or $12K a year sitting on their ass...why are we giving them free money? Hand them a toilet brush and tell them to create value in the world. Clean toilets retains customers.


It is a statistical fact that there are less job opportunities then there are unemployed people. What you're saying amounts to telling people to starve to death because the economy is bad. It is also a fact that most of the hiring opportunities are for jobs which require prior training or experience. Guess what, you cannot get a job as a journeyman welder if you've never held a torch before. It is also a statistical fact that something like 70% of welfare recipients on are for 18 months of less and are never back on, and the majority of the rest are retired.
#13909148
All of them are legitimately unable to find work? Bullshit.

I am shocked so many have suggested it is reasonable to expect folks would rather draw welfare checks than work a shitty low paying job. THAT IS EXACTLY MY POINT!


When did I say it is reasonable to expect folks would rather draw welfare checks than work a shitty low paying job?

I said

Where does this want come from? People are are unemployed because they don't want to work. They are unemployed because they can't get work.


We should not be giving them the welfare, they should be doing the shitty job! Shitty jobs need to get done, and our lazy american refusal to do them leads to illegal immigration, urban decay, and hundreds of billions of dollars flushed down the drain every year while skills atrophe and the conditions for riots and crime fester and grow.


I am (thank god) not an American.

Work! Nobody owes you a full stomach and a warm bed, earn it!


So people who have worked for decades and payed taxes for decades should be left to stave if they lose their job? Wow.

Have some self-respect. WTF is happening to our culture? How do you think we became the most powerful and envied country in the world (other than stumbling upon vast, untapped resources?)


Having almost a whole continent to yourselves, genociding the natives, using slave labor to build the nation and being totally cut off from any homeland damage in both world wars had nothing to do wit it I'm sure. :lol:

If you gave any people on earth the Advantages that the USA has they would be incredible successful, it has nothing to do with the American people.

we WORKED HARD! Sometimes for no pay! (lol, j/k) No seriously...life is not fair, nobody asked you to be born, I don't owe anybody shit. I want to respect you as a person, I dont' want you to be a worthless sack of shit living in my city. I want you to self-actualize. You're never going to do that sitting on the couch eating cheetos. Work!


There are nearly the million unemployed in Britain, there are not 3 million jobs available, youth unemployment is at 20 percent. I don't know how well the teach maths in the colonies but I will let you try to puzzle that out.
#13909191
DudeWhoGetsIt wrote:When the economy crashed in 2008 I was laid off. So I grabbed a broom and started sweeping. I was thankful for the opportunity, and I worked hard. That gig turned into management.

Recentlly I was laid off again, so I applied to positions in and around my career fields and within 2 weeks I had a new job, pay raise, and increased benefits.

My point: if you're willing to work, there are jobs.

Hm no the economy is still short millions of jobs, the unemployment rate when you include people who have stopped looking is at 11%, not to mention another 8% are only part time when they want o be full time. There are not jobs out there.
DudeWhoGetsIt wrote:We spend about $165 billion a year on federal unemployment insurance. Some folks have been drawing these benefits for 99 WEEKS!

Yes and that 165billion created almost 250billion in increased economic growth

DudeWhoGetsIt wrote:If you are willing to work hard for $22K per year, there are jobs aplenty. Grab a mop.
If you are willing to get re-trained in the fields of software or medical assistance, there are jobs aplenty.
If you are willing to move to a place like Dallas or Austin or North Dakota...

So WTF, people?

The problem is that there are not jobs out there. And furthermore people on unemployment insurance are more likely to be looking for jobs and are faster to get new jobs then those who are not
#13909574
Publius wrote:
It is a statistical fact that there are less job opportunities then there are unemployed people.


Sure I understand this is the case, this is always the case. And that is the reason we have unemployment insurance, and I think it's a good thing.

The number of jobs available is a fluid number. If people started rushing OFF the welfare rolls, and INTO all these low paying jobs at McDonald's and so forth, after a year of this activity the growth in GDP alone would create openings for another untold amount of jobs, and the virtuous cycle would repair the economy. Not a job for every single person...but more of them - and more is better than less.

For every person that gets off welfare and starts working, we save what? $13,000 a year? So 100,000 people get off welfare and go to work for McDonald's and suddenly the govt has an extra $1.3billion to give tax breaks or stimulus or hire more teachers. Also McDonald's has a highly motivated workforce, and they begin to produce slightly more profit - and the market notices and people invest, and before you know it another branch opens up and there are 50 more jobs created. And all those new paychecks get spent just like the welfare did...but there's more money left over so folks buy their kids a new toy, and before you know it toymakers are hiring, toystores are hiring, tax revenues are up, the debt goes down, interest rates stay low, foreign investors take a second look at the American economy and say, "hey, those lazy fat americans are actually working hard again, and for less money...think I'll move my corporate HQ over there next to that brand new McDonalds."
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