America's governors should fix unemployment insurance

On Friday, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or CARES Act. This $2.2 trillion stimulus package will provide economic aid to health care professionals, working class families, small businesses, and the unemployed during this epidemic.

Unfortunately, some provisions in this law threaten America’s workforce and eventual economic recovery. Specifically, the law adds an additional $600 per week on top of the existing unemployment insurance benefits all laid-off workers will receive for the next four months. These funds will be administered regardless of how much money the individual was earning before the crisis, and regardless of whether their unemployment is related to COVID-19 disruptions.

Instead of supporting workers, this creates a situation in which many employees are better off being fired than remaining employed during this pandemic-created economic downturn.

To put the scale of the problem in perspective, the median weekly wage for full-time workers is $936. The average unemployment benefit across the country is $385, which means the average new benefit should be at least $985 — higher than the median wage. That means most workers would actually get a raise by leaving the workforce.  Source: Paul Broun for Congress