South By North Strategies, Ltd.

Robert Greenstein of the Center for budget and Policy Priorities finds proposed changes to the unemployment insurance system “an appalling idea, even by Washington standards.”

The proposal will primarily affect workers who were paid low or modest wages (since people with less education tend to be paid less) and who consequently are unlikely to have much in the way of assets to help them weather their period of unemployment.
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Moreover, the people affected will, in many cases, have paid significant UI taxes over the years.  UI taxes are generally levied on the first $7,000 of a worker’s wages (this figure is somewhat higher in some states).  Although employers pay the tax, economists agree that employees largely bear the burden of the tax in the form of lower wages than they would otherwise receive.  And since the tax is levied on only the first $7,000 (or a similar figure) in annual wages, it constitutes a larger share of the wages of lower-wage workers than of higher-wage ones.
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To add insult to injury, the proposal would allow people without a high school diploma or GED to receive benefits only if they enroll in classes for which there often would be no slots available — in part because of budget cuts approved by some of the same policymakers who now embrace this new requirement.