[teejers1]

People preferring to remain on the dole sounds like a Republican talking point, like welfare queens.  If that's true, it's only true on a very marginal level.  Admittedly, when I furloughed my eight, five of them will make (on a weekly basis) in the general neighborhood of what they made for our firm.  Every single one of them would be preferred to be in the office and working, rather than taking a dole check that is 2% to 5% higher than their former check.

Yeah, I agree with you.  I think unless the gap was very large, most people would rather the security of an ongoing job than a little more money coupled to the uncertainty that it may not last beyond July.  It may be a marginal issue for a few, but for most of the unemployed, the benefit of the enhanced unemployment checks in keeping them afloat while the economy is in dire straights and they can't go back to work outweighs the small risk that they would chose to remain unemployed.

As I said, you can also slowly taper the unemployment supplement to decrease the risk as the economy recovers.  You can also encourage re-employment by committing yourself to continuing the unemployment supplements for a reasonable time period after they are hired.

BC

I happen to agree with you and Mick that most would prefer to work. But I do find it curious that "anecdotal reports" (your words) of some preferring to stay on the dole versus going back to work are presumed to be outliers while the anecdotal reports we see of "Target woman" knocking masks of shelves is seen as representative of a significant portion of Americans.   It's a remarkable dichotomy, really.

P.S.  Glad to see SJ Merc article reporting on hospital capacity problems (in Miami and Houston, most notably).  Again, areas with real or imminent capacity issues need to have the SiP screws tightened (or mask wearing enforced).

[teejers1]

People preferring to remain on the dole sounds like a Republican talking point, like welfare queens.  If that's true, it's only true on a very marginal level.  Admittedly, when I furloughed my eight, five of them will make (on a weekly basis) in the general neighborhood of what they made for our firm.  Every single one of them would be preferred to be in the office and working, rather than taking a dole check that is 2% to 5% higher than their former check.

Yeah, I agree with you.  I think unless the gap was very large, most people would rather the security of an ongoing job than a little more money coupled to the uncertainty that it may not last beyond July.  It may be a marginal issue for a few, but for most of the unemployed, the benefit of the enhanced unemployment checks in keeping them afloat while the economy is in dire straights and they can't go back to work outweighs the small risk that they would chose to remain unemployed.

As I said, you can also slowly taper the unemployment supplement to decrease the risk as the economy recovers.  You can also encourage re-employment by committing yourself to continuing the unemployment supplements for a reasonable time period after they are hired.

BC

I happen to agree with you and Mick that most would prefer to work. But I do find it curious that "anecdotal reports" (your words) of some preferring to stay on the dole versus going back to work are presumed to be outliers while the anecdotal reports we see of "Target woman" knocking masks of shelves is seen as representative of a significant portion of Americans.   It's a remarkable dichotomy, really.

P.S.  Glad to see SJ Merc article reporting on hospital capacity problems (in Miami and Houston, most notably).  Again, areas with real or imminent capacity issues need to have the SiP screws tightened (or mask wearing enforced).