Topline
With at least two dozen red states opting out of a federal unemployment supplement of $300 per week amid fears that the benefit is discouraging the jobless from returning to work, Republican lawmakers in two more states are pushing to end the payments even though their Democratic governors haven’t yet opted out.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on August 19, 2020, in Milwaukee.
Key Facts
On Wednesday, the Kansas Senate voted to approve a resolution calling on Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly to end the $300 weekly benefit, WIBW reported.
Earlier this month, Kelly said no final decision had been made about the benefits, adding that “it’s something that we are exploring,”” according to KSNT.
The Wisconsin State Senate on Tuesday held a hearing to consider a Republican-backed bill that would end payment of the $300 supplement, WUWM reported.
Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers told reporters last week that he would be “less than honest if I didn’t say I was strongly considering vetoing it,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week.
Big Number
24. That’s how many states have already opted out of the federal program, all of which have Republican governors. At least 36 have also reinstated a requirement that beneficiaries of unemployment benefits actively search for work. That requirement was suspended by many states during the pandemic.
Crucial Quote
“We should not be in the business of creating lucrative government dependency that makes it more beneficial to stay unemployed rather than return to work,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) wrote in an op-ed in the Kansas City Business Journal last week.
Tangent
Roy Cooper, the Democratic governor of North Carolina, is also facing pressure from his state’s U.S. senators to end the benefits. “Gov. Cooper needs to acknowledge the existence of a problem and take action to fix it,” Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, both Republicans, said in a joint statement Wednesday. “While the governor recently announced he will finally start reinstating the job search requirement, that’s merely enforcing existing law. It’s not enough.”
Key Background
The $300 federal supplement has ignited a national debate about the nature of the economic recovery amid reports that businesses have been unable to hire enough workers to meet demand. The White House has been adamant that the extra benefit is not the cause of the labor shortage, and a memo by two Biden Administration economists cited childcare challenges, school scheduling, commuting issues and vaccinations, not to mention concerns about the virus, as factors that could be preventing jobless Americans from returning to work. A recent working paper by two researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that the supplement had a “small but noticeable” impact on workers’ decision making but was not a major cause of the labor shortage.
Further Reading
Florida The Latest State Dropping $300-A-Week Federal Unemployment Benefits (Forbes)
At Least 36 States Are Reimposing Work Search Requirements On Unemployment Benefits Recipients (Forbes)
Biden Administration Doesn’t Think It Can Force States To Pay $300 Unemployment Benefits, According To Report (Forbes)
