Stupid Idea: "Sasse Introduces Legislation to Convert Boosted Unemployment Benefits to 'Signing Bonus' " - Granite Grok

Stupid Idea: “Sasse Introduces Legislation to Convert Boosted Unemployment Benefits to ‘Signing Bonus’ “

Flushing-Money-down-the-toilet

Incentives, when targeted correctly to the right people at the right time for right purpose, work. It invokes “self-interest” of individuals when the value of the incentive is sufficient to overcome any reticent of an individual to NOT do something when the incentive is trying to persuade to YES (or the other way around).

In this case, this is not one of them. AT ALL! Emphasis mine:

Sen. Ben Sasse introduced legislation that would reallocate pandemic unemployment benefits into a signing bonus for those who get a job in an attempt to encourage workers back into employment following the disappointing April jobs report. Sasse introduced the plan on Tuesday in an effort to reward those currently collecting unemployment insurance if they secure a job. The legislation comes as the economy blossoms from its pandemic slump, yet employment has lagged. The difference has resulted in an excess of job openings with not enough workers and fears that unemployment benefits are incentivizing workers to stay off the job.

Currently, the federal government’s supplemental pandemic unemployment program provides the unemployed $300 per week in federal payments in addition to whatever amount they are receiving in state unemployment. That number is often well above what people would make if working a minimum wage job and can disincentivize employment.

Do you know what the REAL incentive is in all this? Very similar to the REAL minimum wage – $0. Nada, nein, nothing, zippo.

Nothing focuses the mind by telling the lazy that Daddy Government has taken the credit card away. Ditto those that made the rational decision to take the ride that Mommy Government offered by setting up the financial DISINCENTIVE to stay home. Even if someone is, perhaps as an example, getting 10% less on by being on the dole, they are getting a huge amount of their weekly time back. It does make sense.

It’s Government’s fault and now Government thinks it can solve it – but entirely the wrong way.

The solution isn’t MORE money, it is zero money.  Remove the disincentive to work. Remove the incentive of staying in the Government’s white gauzy hammock.

This Government policy is a great example of the Democrat / Progressive basic thinking: only good intentions count – not the results. They decided that the “Economy” was the Oppressor and they had to rush to save the victims of that Oppression. They just wouldn’t admit that the Economy in each State was driven by each Governor, many of them Democrats who were directing the WuFlu Shutdown Two-Step.

And Businesses now can’t find employees. And Sasse wants to throw even more bad money after bad money? No, the presence of “the thing” in this situation is worse than “the thing”.

Sasse’s proposal would convert the expanded unemployment benefit into a two-month signing bonus equal to 101% of existing pandemic benefits over the course of multiple payments for individuals who can demonstrate new and continued employment by July 4. The expanded $300 unemployment payments are set to end on Sept. 6.

“We’ve been warning about this predictable crisis for a year now: Americans want to work, but the federal government is paying more for unemployment than for work,” the Nebraska Republican said in a Tuesday statement. “Well-meaning but stupidly-designed policy is holding Main Street back. This bill isn’t a perfect solution, but let’s at least turn unemployment checks into signing bonuses.”

This is about as stupid a statement that I’ve seen lately. After all, you can game the system again – get a job, get the “bonus”, and then quit again. Why not – you’ve now got the money you were going to get in the first place and extend your “Funcation” just a little bit longer.

At least the Democrats knew what they were doing: buying votes, taking advantage of a crisis, and then mashing the gas pedal in a Cloward-Piven plan.

Just like a kid needing a kick in the pants, cut them off.

(H/T: Washington Examiner)

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