Well, first of all, SDI is not taxed by the feds or by California except when used as a replacement for unemployment insurance (it is paid for by taxes and you

Well, first of all, SDI is not taxed by the feds or by California except when used as a replacement for unemployment insurance (it is paid for by taxes and you just accrue a benefit when you make a claim—it is not taxed again) so there’s a critical flaw in your reasoning. Secondly, I think the idea that someone could not make do on $5200 a month would strike many people as shocking, especially given that puts you above the median American. Most people are more precarious than that. I understand HN skews more toward extremely expensive CoL areas of California, so I grant that there may be many people here who legitimately could not although I don’t think SDI should be expected to cover 100% of living expenses for extremely highly compensated individuals in the most expensive area to live in the state. That aside, SDI is one of the best public goods California has. I had surgery this past year and was able to take 3 months off work with no impact to my financial situation. The benefit almost replaced my take home pay (since, again, it was not taxed) and then my company topped it off. It was sort of surreal to be paid equivalently for not working. Unaccustomed to that as an American.