This Congress passed a bill giving all unemployed Americans an additional $300 a month to help them until they can return to the workplace. I t was part of the massive covid relief bill which had unanimous Democratic support. And unanimous GOP rejection. As in all laws the GOP does not like, many GOP-run states are simply refusing to enforce it. They are rejecting the additional monies which help the poorest working families in their states.
As of 2 days ago the following states, all with Republican governments, chose to not allow their unemployed citizens the additional funding. Montana, Iowa, North Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri have all told their poor unemployed: Sorry, no extra help for you. Yesterday, Ohio joined the parade.
To be clear, this money comes from the federal government. Which means most of it comes from the “blue” states which have been subsidizing the “red ” states for years. So, I suppose, those of us who have been keeping the welfare states afloat should be happy. Less money being drained from us.
A semi-intelligent person (me, for example) might ask the question: Why would the leadership of a state refuse free help for the workers in that state?Working families who need temporary assistance to pay the bills. How does that benefit, say, Idaho?
The governors of those states have the answer. If you give these unemployed workers all this money, they will refuse to work. They will sit on their fat (ethnic) butts and do nothing. As we break this down to dollars and cents.
The additional $300 a month breaks down to $10 per day. $10 per day. So, the Republican governors believe (do they?) that an additional $10 a day will keep people from going back to work.The lazy bastards are just sitting around rather than going out and getting a job for $7.25 (as in Idaho) . How are businesses going to get workers for $ 7.25 an hour when the lazy bastards can sit home and make 10 bucks a day?!
I understand the philosophy behind this. After all, the GOP in these states support keeping wages low for the working poor and profits high for non-working rich. I respect that philosophy. It is as old as the grand old Confederacy. Crush workers. No unionization. No benefits. Keep a population completely dependent and willing to take any job at any wage just to survive. It is a long held noble philosophy of the right wing.
But, being a practical man, I do not understand one thing. The federal government is giving workers an additional $10 a day. What are they going to do with that extra money? Invest it in the stock market? Put it away in their “Yacht Savings Account”? Maybe spend it on a Disney World vacation?
I would suggest that this $10 a day would be spent immediately. At the local grocery store. At the auto mechanic. Paying the bill to the local utility company. Shoes for kids. A visit to the local doctor. All of this additional money would go directly into the local economy. Which would create…uh…more jobs.
So, congratulations to the GOP states. You have not only deprived your own citizens (Of course, you don’t see working people as “your” citizens). You have taken money out of local economies. Money that would help keep the local grocer, mechanic, etc. afloat. Hard to figure.
The Old Liberal 
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Howdy Joseph!
A great post. I enjoyed reading it. However, there is one minor correction. The expanded unemployment benefit was $300.00 per week, not per month. At $300.00 per week, it worked out to $7.50 per hour in a forty hour work week. It was like giving someone a full-time minimum wage job. In addition, to the unemployment benefit that they were already getting. In other words, it was like the situation that many of us find ourselves in, working two minimum wage jobs just to stay afloat.
If you’re working so much just to get by, then you’re too tired and too busy to actually participate in our political process among other things. By denying people an actual living income whether through raising the minimum wage or by increasing the unemployment benefit, these GQP governors are helping suppress people. And, it confirms that world-view that conservatives promote: people are lazy and will try to get away with anything. It proves the definition of a conservative: someone who is kept awake at night because someone somewhere is getting away with something they shouldn’t. Unfortunately, that person is usually one of their elected politicians.
Huzzah!
Jack
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Thanks for the correction. That makes a big difference to the unemployed. Now, if only they could make this permanent for all citizens since the minimum wage is in the toilet.
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Howdy Joseph!
The GQP continually amazes me in their absolute disregard for the actual well being of our citizens and their constiuents. It leaves me thinking that they just don’t care about “winning” votes anymore because they think they’ve rigged the system sufficiently.
The only other thing that amazes me more is the willingness of the rank and vile GQP voter to continue voting for them. It must be that they like what the GQP is doing. It can’t be that they like the draconian policies that make their lives worse, so they must like it that those policies hurt Black folks first and worst.
Huzzah!
Jack
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The issue of malingerers has been argued by anecdote since the days of Reagan, if not before. As an independent and former member of both parties, who has volunteered to help working homeless families, the truth is in the data. While there are malingerers, they constitute a very small percentage of people on food stamps or getting help. Yet, they are the focus not the significant majority getting help.
When I have spoken to rotary groups about helping our working homeless families, many are amazed that people have jobs and cannot afford a home. The fact is, many have several jobs, and an event caused them to lose their home.
You made an excellent point about giving $10 of month to a person in need will get spent and help them and the economy. Giving $10 a month to a wealthy person will not be spent. One thing Democrats need to do is market better. When jobs creation data is reviewed since it was first measured in 1921, we find thirteen GOP White Houses and twelve plus Biden Democrat White Houses. Under which White Houses has more jobs been created? Most people get this wrong, even Democrats. The answer is under Democrat White Houses and it is not even close (please refer to Wikipedia searching job growth by president). I recognize that presidents get too much credit and blame for the economy, but why don’t Democrats play up this issue, as it is simply untrue that more jobs are created under GOP presidents.
Keith
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Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
I’ve mentioned before the criticism by Republicans of the extension of the additional $300 unemployment benefits passed by Congress (well, the Democrats/humans in Congress) and how the Republicans have been hyper-critical, saying it encourages people to stay home rather than get jobs. Republicans totally miss the mark there, and their math is deserving of an ‘F’ grade! Fellow-blogger Joseph Urban has written a post about how some Republican-led states are actually attempting to refuse the money! Methinks the courts will have something to say about this … at least I hope so … but meanwhile, people are in desperate need. Thank you, Joseph, for bringing this to the forefront and for your kind permission to share it here on Filosofa’s Word.
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Excellent post!!! Mind if I reblog it this afternoon?
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I would be honored.
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Thank you!
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“Which would create…uh…more jobs. ”
That’s just it… there’s no shortage of jobs. There’s a shortage of workers willing to do those jobs for the paltry pay since the enhanced unemployment pays more. To you an extra $300/month may not seem like much but, when you break it down to 5 8hr workdays it might represent a >$3/hr raise for some. You mentioned $7.25/hr and some states pushed for $10/hr a while back without achieving it. Places that did are pushing for $15 now and in all those cases, the bump gets them closer.
I think that’s the Biden administration’s plan. Push for $15/hr, model it with federal employees and contractors, subsidize unemployment to force employers to step up and compete for employees.
To be clear, I don’t disagree with any of that. I understand that minimum wage really isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” because cost of living is vastly different between say Scranton and San Diego… but, in all cases employers like restaurants and retail either need to pay up or their owners can keep wearing all the hats and earning their profits themselves.
Democrats need to do a better job of controlling the narrative here. The news keeps showing restaurant owners complaining about not being able to hire people because they’d rather stay on unemployment. The reporters should be asking why the restaurant owners won’t pay them a living wage.
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Good points. People need a living wage. I think your math might be a little off. $75 a week breaks down to less than $1.90 an hour difference. I agree with you that the minimum wage should be tied to the cost of living in the area. Try to find a decent apartment for less than $2000 a month in the NYC area. Not easy. Even a $10 an hour wage does not even pay the rent!
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As with Medicare expansion, those Red States may believe that taking money sets a bad precident–if they take the money this time, the Feds might be encouraged to offer more in the future.
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Good point. The governors do not see working people as their constituents. Only owners.
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