War on Work—8.30.2021
It’s almost Labor Day. That means the federal unemployment boost is set to expire in just one week. President Biden has already signaled that he’ll let the bonus expire. But he’s also reportedly considering other welfare schemes to replace the bonus, including having states use stimulus funds to cut checks for the unemployed.
Enough is enough.
The unemployment bonus has been an unmitigated disaster. That’s why more than half the states have opted out of it. We don’t need any more schemes or workarounds that pay people not to work. Too many small businesses have already endured a labor crisis for two straight summers. It’s time to get back to work.
Our new research shows the best way to put the economy into overdrive: End all unemployment bonuses and expansions. Ending UI extensions is tried and true policy. States that have opted out of the federal UI bonus are seeing thousands of workers get off the sidelines and back on the job. In fact, the number of new unemployment claims in opt-out states has decreased by nearly 45 percent.
The UI bonus has to go—small businesses can’t wait any longer.
Do you know which state was the first to opt out of the UI bonus? The answer is: Montana. And our policy experts just received exclusive data from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services detailing the economic boom the state experienced after opting out of the UI bonus.
You won’t see this data anywhere else. And it’s, in a word, astounding.
Since Governor Gianforte opted out of the UI bonus, there have been more than 70,000 new hires in Montana. Tax revenue collections have exploded. Unemployment spending fell by 90 percent.
Montana is a perfect case study of the economic benefits of ending unemployment bonuses and expansions. And it proves how necessary it is to let the federal UI bonus expire in a week.
Our production team also recently released another video featuring a small business struggling to hire workers because of unemployment bonuses and expansions. For more than 150 years, Fiesta Tableware has sold pottery from its factories in West Virginia. But the family business is having a difficult time finding workers. Check out this company’s story below:
Also be sure to not miss our latest op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that gives a real-life account on the impact that ending the unemployment bonus had in Arkansas. Like Montana, when Governor Hutchinson ended the UI bonus in Arkansas, small businesses were finally able to hire staff and extend hours. It was the economic boost Arkansas badly needed. Make sure you check out the op-ed here.
