Beginning in January, Michigan will slash unemployment benefits from a pitiful 26 weeks to a shameful 20, the first state in the nation to do so.
According to statements in the Detroit Free Press, Governor Rick Snyder is trying to spin this as a positive move, saying the bill lets those who are already unemployed enjoy extended ‘unenjoyment’ benefits.
But if you sincerely believe that your odds of finding a job will improve if you aren’t laid off until January, please share with me what you are smoking or drinking.
The dismal fact is that the social safety net in the our country is already woefully inadequate. According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, workers in the U.S. receive on average less than 30% of their wages through unemployment if they lose their jobs. Yet Belgium averages 51%, France 58%, Switzerland 70%, and Denmark 71%.
“A number of European countries pay over 40 percent of previous wages in the second and third year of unemployment. A few countries keep the benefits flowing even into the fourth and fifth years of unemployment.”
Sounds good to me. And this is from a policy group arguing against generous unemployment benefits.
And while we are at it, consider how generous countries like France are to their workers. The American Sociological Associations website reports that daycare for kids is publicly funded and free to parents. “French child care is intended primarily as early education and is open to all children, regardless of socioeconomic status. Almost 100 percent of French three-, four-, and five-year-olds are enrolled in the full-day, free écoles maternelles; all are part of the same national system, with the same curriculum, staffed by teachers paid good wages by the same national ministry.”
Why are we headed in the wrong direction? Too many wars to pay for? Too many unrestrained corporate lobbyists distorting public policy? Too many millionaires and billionaires in high places? Sing along with me and the Koch brothers, “This is what plutocracy looks like”:
I agree with you Bonnie. Anyone who hasn’t watched Michael Moore’s movie “Sicko” should watch it immediately. It highlights the way other countries treat their own, how they care for their own, and how that caring affects the society overall. I found the movie very enlightening regarding how workers are treated with regard to benefits, sick time, child care etc. It’s not the typical Michael Moore documentary and I found it very thoughtful.