South By North Strategies, Ltd.

The American Prospect reports on moves to cut unemployment insurance payments despite disturbingly high levels of unemployment.

Unemployment benefits are on the chopping block, at both the state and federal levels. They’re certainly not cheap: With 14 million people officially unemployed as of May, the price tag for unemployment benefits is projected at $129 billion for 2011, according to a report from the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative. Since the recession, benefits have been extended to a maximum of 99 weeks, thanks to both federal and state add-ons.
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Now, as the Huffingon Post’s Arthur Delaney has extensively tracked, many states are cutting back. Michigan, Missouri, and Arkansas have shrunk the number of weeks people can receive state aid. A similar bill in Florida awaits the governor’s signature, and more states are likely to follow. And the federal bills creating the 99 weeks max all expire at the end of 2011, so people still unemployed come January will be abruptly bumped down to their state limits.
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“If we withdraw these unemployment benefits that families need and rely on and that are pumped back into local economies, that might do more harm than good,” says Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project. For every dollar spent on unemployment benefits, two dollars in economic growth are generated, Owens says, citing Department of Labor research. …