Clear Evidence on Disincentives to Work

The progress on U.S. job creation in the past year would have been stalled by extending benefits.
By Bob Funk
People in government like to take credit for the drop in the unemployment rate this year. But one reason the rate dropped is because the government didn’t extend unemployment benefits.

Recall that in January President Obama asked Congress to pass an insurance-extension bill that would allow people to receive unemployment checks for almost two years. “Voting for unemployment insurance helps people and creates jobs,” he said, “and voting against it does not.”
From where I sit in private business, things look different. Had Congress extended unemployment benefits the number of people without work would be higher than it is today. Unemployment compensation is a cushion people need when they fall on hard times. But it can also deter people from looking for work if they know they can receive public assistance for years at a time.

Clear Evidence on Disincentives to Work

In The Wall Street Journal, Bob Funk writes that the progress on U.S. job creation in the past year would have been stalled by extending unemployment benefits.

online.wsj.com|By Bob Funk