I was watching FOX News and noticed that there were quite a few Republicans and Conservatives who do not believe that Congress should spend money we do not have (borrowed from China), to extend unemployment insurance. They say the job market is improving and that the standard 26 weeks is enough to determine if there is a market for your skills. With federal and State funded extension, people in some States are able to collect unemployment for up to a full year.
The Republicans on Fox News said that while they felt bad for the unemployed, they felt that in many cases people were holding out and not getting a survival job to make it until the economy improved and the extended coverage actually made the unemployment rate higher because people could afford to be picky. They said that if the person could not find a job in 26 weeks why would they find one in 52 weeks. The Democrats said that there were no jobs to be found and the people should be able to collect unemployment insurance until the job market improved. (That could be years in some communities)
I discussed this with my husband and we agreed that in many cases if the unemployment insurance were cut off for these people they would find a job, but because they could collect for up to a year, most hold out for something that fits their past experiences.
What do you think? Does the ability to collect unemployment insurance for up to a year, encourage laziness and actually increase long term unemployment?