(AmericanProsperity.com) – On Tuesday, President Donald Trump reportedly expressed private reservations and opposition to extending the $600 per week unemployment compensation. The benefit, which expires at the end of July, was part of the $2-trillion CARES Act passed in late March. House Democrats passed their HEROES Act last week which, if approved by the Senate and president, would extend that weekly payment through January 2021.
I want to make people whole who lost their job through no fault of their own.
But I don't want to pay people more NOT to work than to actually go to work. https://t.co/F6zw84AsXA
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 22, 2020
Republicans worry that the benefit will disincentivize people from working and make it harder to open the economy back up. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported many people were earning more on unemployment than they were from working their previous job. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he brought the issue up with Trump. The president agreed with Graham, but didn’t say if he would or wouldn’t sign another relief bill if the unemployment payment extension was included.
Advocating for the benefit, Treasury Department economist Ernie Tedeschi tweeted acknowledgment that unemployed workers will lose 50-75% of their income the minute the program expires. Tedeschi wrote there likely wouldn’t be enough labor demand to hire people back when the lockdowns end.
For now, it’s a wait-and-see situation, but it’s better for those who can return to work to do so before they lose their benefits along with their job.
~Here’s to Your Prosperity!
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