This page was last updated on July 26, 2010.
Let politicians try unemployment; Dan Cogley; Beaver County Times; July 25, 2010.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“This is for the politicians like Tom Corbett who are against extending unemployment benefits.”
[RWC] According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, “At a campaign stop July 9 in Lancaster County, [Mr. Corbett] said that several employers had told him that people were saying they wouldn’t seek work until their unemployment-benefit checks ran out. ‘The jobs are there,’ he said in part, ‘but if we keep extending unemployment, people are just going to sit there.’ … Corbett later said he misspoke and knew that most unemployed people wanted to work.”
“If elected, will they take the job at half pay, and no health insurance, no per diem (pay for their own meals), no car allowance?
“If they have a party, they pay for it. If they fly some place, they pay for it. If they take out the car, they pay upkeep and gas.
“And if they think there is something they should not pay for, get a receipt and let the IRS decide if it is deductible.
“This is the real world, not the one these politicians live in.
“I know I am missing a lot of other freebees they get. How long would they last in the real world without these perks?
“Then, think of this. I have to do all of this on less than half of what I made when I was working. Lazy? Maybe, I have more stress and pressure on me to feed my family, keep my bills up and just live.
“Lazy. Ya, right. I think these politicians are out of touch and it’s time for them to be unemployed.”
[RWC] Whether we want to admit it publicly or not, unemployment compensation subsidizes unemployment and when you subsidize something you get more of it. Lefties seem to recognize this since it’s always cited by them to support subsidies for everything from cars to houses. Here are some questions to show what I mean. The questions assume loss of unemployment benefits is not imminent.
If you were offered a job that paid less than you received in unemployment benefits, would you take the job? If you answered “yes,” is there a point at which you would not take the job?
If you were offered a job that paid the same as you received in unemployment benefits, would you take the job?
If you were offered a job that paid more than what you received in unemployment benefits, but thought you could do better, would you consider not taking the job?
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