A plan Republican state legislators revealed Wednesday to reform the state’s broken unemployment insurance system will undoubtedly hurt the unemployed the most.
The plan, which, according to the N.C. Justice Center, was made between legislators and the Chamber of Commerce “with no input from workers or worker advocates,” would attempt to pay the federal government back the $2 billion North Carolina borrowed during the recession to pay the benefits. While business would have to pay more taxes, those increases would be temporary. The reduced unemployment benefits would be permanent.
According to WFAE:
The plan also calls for significant pain for the unemployed. The state would slash the maximum weekly benefit from $535 to $350, and it would cut the number of weeks it offers unemployment payouts from 26 weeks to 20.
Bill Rowe is the director of Advocacy at the N.C. Justice Center.
“As I look at it, it doesn’t look like employers are paying the lion’s share, but that unemployed workers will be paying the bulk of it and will be paying the bulk of it for years to come,” Rowe said.
To read WFAE’s full story, click here. To sign a petition to protect unemployment insurance, click here.
This article appears in Dec 5-11, 2012.
GOP, the party that cares. ROFL
Why should anyone get paid to do nothing?
The simple fact is the State is out of money.
These benefits are not for those who were fired for reasons like theft, tardiness, or misconduct. They are for employees that were laid off, the benefits were paid into for years. It’s not a case of someone getting paid to do nothing, it’s to help honest hard working people survive when their employer leaves them hanging out to dry. The same employers that are to blame for these cuts. NC business leaders have gone to the state government 6 times over the past few years to have unemployment taxes cut, that’s where the money went. Now that the Barons got their tax cut, the out of work Peasants pay the price for it. Typical Republican politics, more for the rich, fuck the poor.
Simple Truth:
That’s odd There seems to be enough money for Panther Stadium upgrades.