Before the end of the year, almost 90,000 unemployed workers in Michigan will have dried out their unemployment benefits. The state, which boasts the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 14.1 percent, is struggling to find short-term answers to the state’s larger problems. There’s currently a bill sitting in the Michigan Senate that could do just that.
The bill, which was passed in May by the state House of Representatives, would continue giving benefits to unemployed workers who are undergoing work training programs. Part-time workers who were laid off, who normally don’t receive benefits, might also see government funding come their way.
Michigan received $138 million from the stimulus package to extend government benefits, which would have the state covered until 2011. Even though the state is in cost-cutting mode, it’s best to keep the unemployment benefits going. At least it’s not totally on our dime.
Unemployment benefits are typically good as immediate help for workers struggling to find work, but doesn’t help them much in the long term. The sudden loss of paychecks can further damage a state’s economy, which in turn can lead to more layoffs. Without the temporary assistance of unemployment, Michigan would be in a far worse situation.
The state needs to make sure workers in training complete their education, because an economy is as good as its workers. The state should try and protect any people trying to be more effective in the job market. Since they can afford do to it, Michigan should continue paying benefits and hope the economy perks up by 2011.
But that’s not to say the unemployment system still doesn’t need changes.
Thirty-four percent of unemployed workers in the state, or 232,000 workers, are not eligible for any funding due to program rules. People can be excluded from acquiring benefits for things such as being a part-time worker, even though many part-time workers log up to 40 hours a week. They receive little help from the government even though they’re in as equally poor situations as full-time workers.
One could argue that full-time workers should receive benefits simply because they’ve earned it more, which is legitimate. Unfortunately, many part-time workers are not working partial hours because of a lack of skill; they’re doing it because it’s almost impossible to find full-time work. Unemployment is designed to help pay for the cost of finding a job and part-time employees should get some of that assistance as well. Maybe they should not receive the full compensation that full-time workers receive, but there should be some form of assistance to this large pool of workers. This terrible economy hurts both groups.
When those 90,000 workers’ checks run out, Michigan will just have another economic problem to deal with. There will be other ways to assist them when the time comes. But for now, Michigan needs to protect workers trying to improve their skill sets as well as expand at least partial protection of part-time workers.
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