Residents in South Carolina and Montana next month will lose access to federal unemployment benefits over what those states’ Republican governors call a “severe workforce shortage.” Experts say the move by Montana’s Gov. Greg Gianforte and South Carolina’s Gov. Henry McMaster is a “huge mistake.”
As ABC News reports, South Carolina and Montana are the first states “to end participation in the unemployment enhancement programs.” That program offered U.S. workers access to extra unemployment funds as part of the American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden in March.
In a statement announcing South Carolina’s “return to pre-pandemic unemployment program,” McMaster complained: “In many instances, these payments are greater than the worker’s previous paychecks.”
“What was intended to be a short-term financial assistance for the vulnerable and displaced during the height of the pandemic has turned into a dangerous federal entitlement,” he said.
In an effort to incentivize Montanans, Gianforte is offering a one-time “‘return-to-work bonus’ of $1,200 will be paid to people who rejoin the labor force and […]
Well, maybe that works for them. If not, those states will hear about it later from voters perhaps.
I have friends who are poor and they were so grateful for the extra money which they put right into their checking account and tried to continue to work if they could. These Republicans are all liars as well as monopolists.