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"FPUC disincentivizes people from going back to work”

Common quip of the "Find something new" Crowd

This just isn’t true.  People want to work.  They also want safe working conditions, a livable wage, health insurance, and benefits.


And if you simply don't believe people saying they want to work, a Yale study proved that the $600 did not disincentivize employment. 


Chicago Fed also found that recipients of UI search harder for employment and have better outcomes. 


Part of this argument is based on the myth that most people are earning more on UI than they did at their jobs. This has been studied and disproven. Sixty percent of unemployment insurance claimants work in industries where the average total compensation exceeds the average weekly UI benefit. (Source: Groundwork Collaborative)


People, especially those at a higher risk, should not be required to return to work during a pandemic until it is safe.  The pandemic has killed 160,000 people in the US already.


Parents are not able to return to work with children who are not in school and without safe and affordable child care options. Forcing children back into unsafe conditions in schools is not the workaround, either.


Many industries are frozen, including the entire events, arts, and entertainment industries as well as much of the travel and hospitality industries. There is not work for them to go back to. The entertainment industry alone accounts for over 5 millions jobs.


PUA-FPUC was set at a conservative livable wage with an easy bipartisan consensus.


This argument asks workers to return (potentially amidst unsafe working conditions) and accept a lower standard than a bipartisan congressional majority agreed to.


A program to subsidize employers and cover the difference has been proposed, and it appeals to both sides of the aisle!


Staying home from work saves lives. States that have aggressively brought workers back have seen their confirmed numbers of cases (as well as hospitalizations and deaths) rise.


And frankly this is just offensive to many of us surviving on the $600 and are being called "lazy".  We have been paying up to 24% of our incomes to the government in taxes for decades.  We pay into the system so that we can all be taken care of in a time of need.


If you're feeling overwhelmed engaging with the vitriol surrounding this particular view... feel free to just paste this Slate piece into the Facebook banter.

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