It’s time to start tightening your belt!
Before the program’s funding ends in September, Republican leaders in 25 states will end the $300 weekly federal pandemic unemployment benefit.
Some say it’s a fight back against the welfare state that is clearly forming under the Biden administration; this is especially the case as Democrat policies seem to be setting in left and right.
The third Trump-era epidemic stimulus package included a weekly increase in state unemployment benefits. Even under Trump, certain Republicans warned that the bonus (which was $600 a week at the time) would lead some individuals to stay at home and earn more money than they would if they worked.
Under President Joe Biden, the benefit was maintained with a lower weekly sum of $300; however, it has come under fire due to lackluster economic projections and business owners citing an inability to hire new staffers.
Stimulus Check Update: Is A Fourth Relief Payment Coming For Americans? https://t.co/nDW1N8OWZO pic.twitter.com/JWn1BDrkdi
— CBS Sacramento CBS13 (@CBSSacramento) June 3, 2021
States Begin Ending the Check
On June 1, Maryland became the 25th state to announce that the benefits would be phased out. Between June 12 and July 13, all of the states involved will have stopped receiving money.
While the program provided “valuable interim relief” during the pandemic, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan claimed it was no longer needed now that vaccines and jobs are in plentiful supply.
The 24 other states poised to end the benefits gave identical reasons; these reasons note that the $300 weekly checks are forcing people to reject good jobs and making businesses struggle to stay afloat.
You know what would be more helpful than a stimulus check? Ending the unnecessary and ineffective lockdowns so we can let people go to work and get kids back in school.
— Brooks (@EBrooksUncut) December 18, 2020
There is a Bigger Issue Here
Other issues, such as a lack of childcare, fear of infection, and poor wages, according to the Biden administration and Democrats, are keeping individuals out of the workforce.
In the United States, the seven-day average of new COVID-19 infections is at its lowest level since the outbreak began. More than 41% of the population has been fully vaccinated. Tens of millions are thought to have developed protection; however, some people may still be able to spread the virus.
The reasoning behind discontinuing the $300 boost will be put to the test as the benefits are phased out in dozens of more states. Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, and Missouri will lose their benefits on June 12th, with the remaining 21 states losing their benefits on July 10th.
"We have felt so much love from this community, from all of those who have continued to support us through the thick and the thin, from market to storefront, throughout the pandemic, week in and week out." https://t.co/wgxyxdqnn4
— Cincinnati Business Courier (@BusinessCourier) May 30, 2021
Regular state unemployment benefits may still be available to unemployed workers. However, they differ greatly. Unemployed people must accept suitable opportunities that are offered, according to White House officials.
Per Department of Labor numbers, around 2.8 million people were receiving pandemic payments in the 25 states that will be discontinuing the program in the coming weeks.
In the United States, job openings are at an all-time high, yet job growth in April came in at a disappointing 266,000.
Employers in a variety of industries, from manufacturing to hospitality, have expressed a pressing need for more workers.
