While Lawmakers Debate Extending Boosted Unemployment Benefits, Here's 1 Solution That May Work
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs in the wake of COVID-19, and earlier this month, economists declared that we have a full-blown recession on our hands. Thankfully, there's been relief for jobless folks in the form of a $600 weekly boost in unemployment benefits that was implemented as part of the CARES Act. Without that extra money, millions of workers could find themselves in dire financial straits, but thankfully, that boost replaces more than 100% of lost wages for roughly two-third of U.S. workers, according to economists at the University of Chicago.
The fact that so many workers are earning more money on unemployment right now than they did at their previous jobs, however, is fueling the argument that the current $600 weekly boost should expire at the end of July as initially planned. Democrat lawmakers are pushing to extend that boost all the way through early 2021, arguing that the unemployment rate is still disastrously high and that out-of-work Americans need the relief. But Republicans have been pushing back, citing lower unemployment numbers in May and a gradual reopening of the economy as reasons to stop paying workers to sit home. In fact, those opposed to extending the $600 weekly boost insist that doing so will deter people from returning to work, thereby thwarting economic recovery rather than lending to it.
Image source: Getty Images.
Source Fool.com
