Long-term unemployed have always been doomed. However, a high unemployment rate (suppose 15%) means that the average person is out of a job 15% of the time. In

Long-term unemployed have always been doomed. However, a high unemployment rate (suppose 15%) means that the average person is out of a job 15% of the time. In most cases, this is not really that devastating. The problem right now is the unemployment benefits last so long that you can stay out of a job to the point that you become irrelevant. Learning new skills takes effort, and usually requires you to take a pay cut as you get an entry-level job in a new field. Everyone can do it, though. Instead, though, we are incentivising long-term laziness by granting money to people who aren't working. I know at least two people who are just living off their unemployment checks and not making any effort to find real work. If the unemployed are getting a check, then people who are employed should get that same check while employed. I think that's the only way to keep the incentive to work. (This goes back to the idea of a minimum guaranteed income)