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> individuals sitting on their ass are getting paid $17/hr. There is no motivation to get a job. The legal maximum is around 60% of your average weekly wage ov

by mrxd 12y ago

> individuals sitting on their ass are getting paid $17/hr. There is no motivation to get a job. The legal maximum is around 60% of your average weekly wage over the last year you worked. Whatever someone is getting in unemployment, they were making 66% more at their last job. That seems like enough motivation. I suspect your numbers are skewed because you didn't subtract federal taxes from your unemployment check or add SS and Medicare to your wages. Once you take that into account, the difference is more like $210.

soylentcola 12y ago
Yep. I had to draw unemployment years ago. It sucked. I was young and relatively inexperienced and my employer had to lay off a bunch of us. The area I was living in at the time was very affordable but only because there were very few jobs and the local economy was terrible. While barely enough to cover rent and expenses in the meantime (along with help from a very generous friend who let me couch-surf temporarily) I somehow managed to move out of the area and drag my dying car to a different town where prospects were a bit better. Eventually was able to put myself back into college and work my way into a more productive career in a larger city. If not for unemployment insurance I would have been stuck in that original crap town with no reliable transportation, no real prospects, and no real way out. It sucked living on such a massive pay cut when I needed to be making even more than usual to fund the relocation and continued education but it was the only thing that made it possible. On some level I think that experience is what made me more supportive of similar social programs because even with their inefficiencies and some percentage of people who may abuse them, for most people, they can be the only thing that even gives them a chance at working their way back to productivity.
- zo1 12y ago
  Would you say that now that you've had that "experience" you're more aware of what can go wrong? i.e. You lose your job and suddenly there is not enough money for basics, etc. Following from that... What would your take-home lesson (and subsequent action) be from that experience if there were no social programs? Assume for the sake of argument that the system of government in place would not allow them to exist at all. Sorry if the tone is a little condescending, it's not intended as such.

by mrxd 12y ago

soylentcola 12y ago

Yep. I had to draw unemployment years ago. It sucked. I was young and relatively inexperienced and my employer had to lay off a bunch of us. The area I was living in at the time was very affordable but only because there were very few jobs and the local economy was terrible. While barely enough to cover rent and expenses in the meantime (along with help from a very generous friend who let me couch-surf temporarily) I somehow managed to move out of the area and drag my dying car to a different town where prospects were a bit better. Eventually was able to put myself back into college and work my way into a more productive career in a larger city. If not for unemployment insurance I would have been stuck in that original crap town with no reliable transportation, no real prospects, and no real way out. It sucked living on such a massive pay cut when I needed to be making even more than usual to fund the relocation and continued education but it was the only thing that made it possible. On some level I think that experience is what made me more supportive of similar social programs because even with their inefficiencies and some percentage of people who may abuse them, for most people, they can be the only thing that even gives them a chance at working their way back to productivity.

zo1 12y ago
Would you say that now that you've had that "experience" you're more aware of what can go wrong? i.e. You lose your job and suddenly there is not enough money for basics, etc. Following from that... What would your take-home lesson (and subsequent action) be from that experience if there were no social programs? Assume for the sake of argument that the system of government in place would not allow them to exist at all. Sorry if the tone is a little condescending, it's not intended as such.