A number of people, certainly. The Washington State legislators who, no matter what happens today at the federal level, are about to increase this state’s unemployment benefits by $45/week. Governor Gregoire, who has pushed for this increase. The voters, who put all these characters in office in the first place. But, also on the list: Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott, who, as chairman of the House Ways and Means Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee (a mouthful, but an important one), helped push through the federal plan to boost unemployment checks nationwide—by $25/week.
Which means that in Washington State, unemployment checks are likely to go up by a total of $70 per week. (That’s $45 from the state + $25 from the feds.) Mark Varadian, spokesman for the state’s Employment Security Department, tells me that, to his knowledge, Washington is the only state in nation to be increasing unemployment checks independent of the federal stimulus package.
Not that the unemployed will be living the lush life, even with these increases. The minimum unemployment benefit in Washington State is now likely to be $225/week. That works out to about $32 a day. If you’re making minimum wage in Washington, and working 40 hours a week, your weekly pay is $342/week, which works out to about $49 a day. So unemployment, even with these increases, is still not nearly as good as life on the minimum wage. But it’s better than it used to be. Until now, people earning the minimum unemployment benefit in Washington State have been getting by on $22 a day.
McDermott is calling all of these expected changes “a New Deal for a New Century.”
Man, I hope that money is still there in April when I get laid off. It’s pretty sad that I’ll be making well more than the minimum wage just for sitting on my butt and sending a few resumes to monster.com
Did they extend benefits past six months or are they going to do that piecemeal?
Yay JMac !
Gee Eli, maybe you should thank the millions of people who get up every morning, put in a full days work and pay their taxes. The people who have made sacrifices and hard choices in order to be responsible, contributing members of society. You can thank politicians if you like – but realistically they’re about as worthy of our appreciation as Santa.
@4: pls. check your rage — unemployment benefits are for people who have had jobs, and who paid into the system and who are laid off nonvoluntarily and not for cause.
And we thank the politicians — the Democratic politicians — who made this sytem possible, and who are beefing it up now that folks need it more. We do not thank the Republicans who have a history of opposing this kind of thing, even when it’s a moderate program targeted to those who were working and is not in any way welfare or socialism.
You know who put forth the first unemployment scheme in the UK?
Winston Churchill in about 1910. That’s how radical it is. He was copying Bismark.
the right wing in America is sooooooo far to the right — they scorn programs that folks like Winston Churchill favored.
They are truly a joke.
hey, look, mcdermott’s not completely worthless – he did something with a concrete benefit. but still, time to retire, old guy.
@4: You also don’t realize that unemployment benefits are taxed. So yeah, I got laid off on Monday, and found out yesterday that my weekly tax withholding is about $45. If this bill passes, it will basically increase my check enough to pay for the taxes I’ll be contributing to pay for the bill anyway. Its a wash, as far as I can tell.
@7, Good luck finding another job.
Remember that WA pays the bulk of the unemployment benefits, and doesn’t have an income tax… so those are Federal taxes that are taken from your check. These taxes are not new, so it is NOT a wash for you, but rather a 10% increase in your benefits (or 15% increase, if the additional $25/week passes). Also, the only withholding options on unemployment are 0 or 10%–of course, that’s not necessarily your actual tax rate.
But whatever. You paid into the system when you were working, so I’m glad the money is there when you need it.
wonderful. more short sighted politicians. imagine how shocked everybody is going to be in a couple years when the unemployment fund is broke – who could have ever foreseen such a thing?
What’s the top end? I get $360 a week but have a friend who gets $440. A $70 increase will certainly make a difference but what’s too much?
What I’m more curious about is whether the extended benefits the stimulus package asserts will last through the end of the year will apply to *all* currently unemployed. As it stands right now, the only way Washington State residents who receive unemployment benefits can qualify for an extension is if said benefits run out before the end of March. Will this change with the stimulus package? No one in town is reporting on this & I think it’ll have a tremendous impact. It will give the minions of us looking for work another three to six months to continue the search (which has been arduous for myself and presumably many of you) and financial solvency. I am fearful of the negative impact that will result if this doesn’t happen.
@4 BITCH, I’ve worked since I was 15 and topped out on a yearly salary of $103K before I got laid off two months ago. I paid taxes for 30 years and probably even sprung for a couple of cans of pork ‘n’ beans for your toothless family to gum down on. I never needed food stamps, welfare, even a fucking student loan.
Now I’ve been laid off and I’m soaking up my sweet severance with my $500-plus weekly check (don’t fret @4 – it’s been taxed at the max). I look forward to my “gub’ment” raise. It’s my turn now. I’ve had a lifetime of having to watch others suck from the federal teet.
I think you’re all very misinformed. Employers are assessed payroll taxes and they are collected by the state primarily. There is also a FUTA tax that is Federal Unemployment tax that employers pay. The employee is never assessed this tax. During really hard times the Federal Government kicks in because every employer in the nation pays FUTA tax, and they owe the state governments who primarily pay this tax in the form of benefits to the unemployed. You want to know the kicker Miller Time? Your employer paid the very same tax to get you the $500 weekly benefit as they did for the low-income worker to get a $200 benefit. Why? Because payroll taxes for employers are only levied on the first $10,000-15,000 of income. But I guess the government figures that you, working for 30 years and topping out at $103,000 need more money than the minimum wage worker. Go figure.
the same goes for me. i have paid into the system my whole life and have never used it. i have been on it since july of last year. i welcome my $1800/month that i get, but i earn every penny of it!!! i look for a job everyday. i would much rather have a job than sit on my ass and do nothing. besides, that is not even 1/4 of what i use to make and it really hurts.
i did get my check today and there was an increase of $50.00 from the stimulius. yippie.
They said that they passed the $25 raise for unemployment. Its April and I still have not seen a raise in my Unemployment. Are they going to give us that have been on it for the past 5 months the raise or is it for only the new people that are going to file a claim? please let me know.
Thanks for your time
Louanne