John Rossomando
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The nation’s 9 percent unemployment rate lurks large in the minds of most Americans. The thought of people staying on unemployment benefits for 99 weeks should raise questions about whether the program helps of hurts.
Having been through the system myself over the past two years, I can attest that the unemployment system works to keep people unemployed. Conservatism, as defined by the late Jack Kemp, aims to help people to help themselves and looks to give people a hand up and not a handout.
In many states, the current unemployment system gives people a check without any sense of accountability. It says, “Here’s your money; you are on your own.”
As anyone who’s been unemployed for any period of time can attest, it is one of the most demoralizing and depressing experiences anyone can go through.
But when employers see a candidate who has been out of work for a long period of time, they worry that candidate has lost his or her touch. Skills tend to degrade due to lack of use, and visibly depressed job candidates frequently do not give the best first impressions.
In June 2009, I found myself in this very position after my newspaper, The Bulletin, suspended publication in Philadelphia. Anyone who has paid attention to the newspaper industry knows that journalism has radically changed in the past few years and journalists need to get up with the times or be left behind.
But when I went to the Pennsylvania Skill Source Center, which oversees job training and retraining for the state, I ended up finding out they only funded training for blue-collar, mostly unionized career paths. (I didn’t have the money to afford it on my own.)
One would think the best way to get people back into the workforce is to help them get the skills they need to stay relevant, provided they don’t have the funds on their own.
Receiving unemployment benefits should be tied to participation in mentorship or volunteer programs that help unemployed individuals improve their skills and marketability. They shouldn’t be allowed to sit idle as they continue to draw benefits.
Additionally, job training monies should be portable. Unemployment recipients should be able to take their monies to any collegiate or training program that can be demonstrated to enhance their skills.
The longer a person sits idle, the more likely they become to being societal burdens. If you want people off of unemployment give them a hand at avoiding idleness and making them productive members of society.
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