Come January Michigan Will Slash Unemployment Benefits by 30%

The grand re-experiment to see if society can be improved by kicking the shit out of the unemployed continues in the Great State of Michigan. And believe me, we know unemployment. We're experts. EXPERTS in unemployment. As The Onion once said back in 2007:

"LANSING, MI—In another devastating blow to the state's already fragile economy, the Unemployment Insurance Agency of the state of Michigan permanently shuttered its nine branch offices Monday, leaving more than 8,500 unemployment employees unemployed."

[snip]

"People from all over the state used to come just to visit our unemployment office," Ayers, 52, said. "Just like Detroit, Ypsilanti, Novi, and most other Michigan cities, Flint's an unemployment town. Has been as long as I can remember."

This State, being no stranger to unemployment, seems to have voted itself into office a bunch of folks who think the remedy to chronically high unemployment is to slash the time allotment for unemployment benefits by 30%, from 26 weeks to 20 weeks.

Starting this January, the new rules go into effect and folks freshly dropped from their livelihoods only get 5 months to look for more work. But not just that. Heck no....

The measures require some unemployed workers to take new jobs after 10 weeks of benefits even if the available work is outside their previous experience or pays lower wages than they were making before. They also make it harder for someone to collect jobless benefits if they're fired for cause or leave a job voluntarily.

The goal here is to either:

1. Punish the unemployed as motivation to be Not Unemployed.

or

2. Chase the unemployed the hell out of Michigan.

or

3. To screw workers in order to cut unemployment insurance costs for Michigan businesses and repay the Federal government the unemployment money lent to it because MICHIGAN HAS BEEN SCREWED for so long, exhausting the unemployment insurance coffers...

...as in NOW is the worst possible time to kick the unmployed to the curb.

The new laws also allow the state to sell bonds through which Michigan employers can repay the $3 billion owed the federal government for loans made to cover unemployment benefits from 2007 until now. The proceeds from the bonds will be used to pay off the debt, eliminating hefty penalties and interest employers now are paying the federal government.

Employers will repay the bonds and the state will get back $38 million borrowed from the general fund to cover the payments.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce said the bonds will save employers penalties and interest, even though some will see their payments go up to repay their share of the bonds. Wendy Block of the chamber said the overall legislation will reform the insolvent unemployment insurance system to address many of the problems that created the funding crisis.

Classic.

As Unemployment Climbs Again, Michigan's Assistance Programs are Eviscerated

It's a beautiful day. Little drizzly, little overcast, slight fog, but warm. It's a lazy, relaxing early autumn. There's a cricket chirping outside the open window.

It's the time of year again when I get to feel sanctimonious about the deals I get on apples at the farmer's market. Yesterday I picked up a half bushel of macintosh apples for $6 - crisp and sweet with a little tart. I tend to go for the apple seconds with minor blemishes. Dark spots.

I should not be looking at unemployment figures today.

Non-farm jobs in Muskegon are at the same levels they were at in 1995 -- 16 years ago. U3 unemployment is Muskegon is back to the 12% range again. I was feeling pretty good earlier this year and late last year. We were backing away from the near 16% unemployment mark we were at in January 2010. In April 2011, at 10.1% unemployment, it looked like we might actually drop below double digit unemployment for the first time in 30 months.

Now we're on to month 34, and seeing a rise in the unemployment level again.

Except now, instead of seeing more help for those struggling to get by, we're seeing Lansing and DC stripping help for people. Michigan's unemployment benefits have been slashed from 26 weeks to 20 weeks, even as people are well into their third year of unemployment. The State level heating assistance fund for individuals is nearly empty and the state has not moved to fund it.

A pittance of cash assistance for those most in need has been retroactively slashed to 48 months, leaving 11,000 of Michigan's poorest citizens without a means to get by with necessities like housing, clothing, utilities, toiletries starting within the week.

And even as food banks are running empty, the state of Michigan is making food assistance more restrictive and raising the eligibility standards.

Michigan has slashed child tax credits for families, removed primary residence tax credits that benefitted the middle class, and are now taxing pensions for those who held up their part of the worker contract.

As our economy moves in the wrong direction, our programs to help low income people and the rising number of people dropping out of the Middle Class do too.

Meanwhile, the wealthiest businesses continue to see their taxes cut...and as most of the housing market tanks, luxury housing sales continue to climb.

This time, 15% unemployment is going to hurt a lot more.

Republicans Kill 1,288 Michigan Jobs as Unemployment Edges Up

This from Trumka's email today:

Last weekend, House Republican leaders proved just how far they are willing to go to achieve their ideological goals.

At 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning, they shut down the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). As if bringing America to the brink of default hasn’t done enough damage already. Are they out of their minds?

Because of the extreme ideological agenda of House Republicans and their political game-playing, 4,000 workers were furloughed over the weekend and more than 90,000 jobs across the country are on the line—including 1,288 in MI.

I don't understand it. It's a purposeful assault on jobs. The Republicans in Congress are killing jobs On Purpose. Michigan's U6 unemployment stood at 19.8% last month, with unemployment climbing again. Looks like it's about to go a lot higher, and on purpose.