The Florida legislature approved a bill that would reduce unemployment benefits and make them more difficult to access. As the unemployment rate lowers, the term would lower correspondingly.
The bill would slash unemployment benefits to a maximum of 12 weeks if the unemployment rate is at 5% or below. The most Floridians could get is 23 weeks if the unemployment rate is 10.5% or higher.
The state's unemployment rate was 11.1% in March, the third highest in the nation.
This bill does not affect the federal jobless program which provides an additional benefit to those who are eligible, up to a maximum of 73 extra weeks. However, it does cut the number of weeks that a Floridan could draw unemployment
Another aspect of the bill is that it allows employers to deny benefits for employee misconduct, expanding the definition of misconduct to include lateness and absenteeism. Workers would be required to complete a job-skills assessment.
Lastly, workers would be required to accept job offers that are at least comparable to their benefit, once they have reached 12 weeks of unemployment.
The bill also imposes additional requirements on the unemployed. They must complete an initial skills assessment.
Once the unemployed start collecting benefits, the jobless must submit reports that show they've either reported to a state career office or contacted at least five employers.
Governor Rick Scott is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
This problem arose because neither Jeb Bush nor Charlie Crist raised the unemployment compensation payroll tax in the past 12 years. When the great Bush recession started, the state quickly ran out of unemployment funds because the unemployment reserve was underfunded.
The moral of this story is that cutting taxes to bare bones can have undesirable consequences. Even the ancient Egyptians knew this with their seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
How did Rick Scott solve the problem? Did he make the business community ante up who had been given a free ride for 12 years. No, he is screwing the Floridans who will lose their jobs.
That is the Republican way. Are you surprised?
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