Welfare benefits under the Biden administartion are failing to get people back into the workforce.AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Most Americans believe, as we do, in a reliable government safety net in America, so that when people fall on tough times or lose their jobs, their families will not go hungry, lose their homes or suffer deprivation. But most Americans also believe that government assistance should be short-term and aimed at quickly getting people back on their feet, into a job and on the road to being financially self-sufficient and a contributor to our economy.
Did you know that families earning half a million dollars a year can receive ObamaCare subsidies? Or that in some states, unemployment insurance benefits can be equivalent to a job with annual pay of $100,000?
It’s shocking but true, and it might explain why so many businesses can’t get workers back on the jobalmost three years after COVID-19 hit these shores. Today there are still at least 3 million fewer Americans working than there were in 2019.
Middle class last
There are many reasons for the worker shortage, but one is that in many states, welfare pays more than or nearly as much as respectable middle-class jobs.
Under Presidents Barack Obama and Biden, many of the highly effective work requirements, which were instituted in the historic 1996 bipartisan welfare reforms, have been eviscerated. Often limits for public benefits have also disappeared while Congress and states have made benefits more generous.
In some states families can earn over six figures annually in unemployment benefits.
Many programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (a k a food stamps), are means tested, so that only low-income people qualify for them. But other handouts are not — including unemployment insurance and ObamaCare subsidies.
The value of these benefits can be staggering — much higher, in fact, than many blue-collar professions. In our new study with the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, we found the following:
In 24 states, unemployment benefits and ObamaCare subsidies for a family of four with no one working are the annualized equivalent of at least the national median household.
A family making almost a quarter of a million dollars annually still qualifies for ObamaCare subsidies in every state.
In a dozen states, the value of unemployment benefits and ObamaCare subsidies exceeds the salary and benefits of the average teacher, construction worker, electrician, firefighter, truck driver, machinist or retail associate.
In New Jersey, a family of four can receive benefits equal to an annualized earned income of $108,000 with no one working.
In Connecticut and New Jersey, a family earning $300,000 a year can receive ObamaCare subsidies
New Jersey is a state where a family can earn the equivalent of $100,000 a year if both parents are collecting unemployment benefits and ObamaCare subsidies for health care. In Connecticut the benefits can reach $80,000.
To be clear, unemployment insurance is at least time-limited to six months in most states. But while Americans are receiving those benefits, the financial incentive to jump into the job market is low.
In addition, people move in and out of the unemployment system — working enough months until they again qualify for benefits.
Our numbers also don’t include the rampant fraud
Under Presidents Barack Obama and Biden, many of the highly effective work requirements, which were instituted in the historic 1996 bipartisan welfare reforms, have been eviscerated. Often limits for public benefits have also disappeared while Congress and states have made benefits more generous.
In some states families can earn over six figures annually in unemployment benefits.
Many programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (a k a food stamps), are means tested, so that only low-income people qualify for them. But other handouts are not — including unemployment insurance and ObamaCare subsidies.
The value of these benefits can be staggering — much higher, in fact, than many blue-collar professions. In our new study with the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, we found the following:
In 24 states, unemployment benefits and ObamaCare subsidies for a family of four with no one working are the annualized equivalent of at least the national median household.
A family making almost a quarter of a million dollars annually still qualifies for ObamaCare subsidies in every state.
In a dozen states, the value of unemployment benefits and ObamaCare subsidies exceeds the salary and benefits of the average teacher, construction worker, electrician, firefighter, truck driver, machinist or retail associate.
In New Jersey, a family of four can receive benefits equal to an annualized earned income of $108,000 with no one working.
In Connecticut and New Jersey, a family earning $300,000 a year can receive ObamaCare subsidies
New Jersey is a state where a family can earn the equivalent of $100,000 a year if both parents are collecting unemployment benefits and ObamaCare subsidies for health care. In Connecticut the benefits can reach $80,000.
To be clear, unemployment insurance is at least time-limited to six months in most states. But while Americans are receiving those benefits, the financial incentive to jump into the job market is low.
In addition, people move in and out of the unemployment system — working enough months until they again qualify for benefits.
Our numbers also don’t include the rampant fraud payments that exceed $100 billion a year.
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