unemployment benefits

An estimated $163 billion in pandemic-related benefits were fraudulently obtained by criminals, according to the Labor Department. The Biden administration said that it inherited the problem and blamed out-of-date systems and the lack of state-by-state data sharing.

The legislation allots $350-billion to states that ruined their own economies with harsh business closures. It will extend unemployment and authorizes cash payments of $1,400 to individuals. There is plenty of other pork and Covid-19 related expenditures, including $46-billion for testing and tracing.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem refused recently authorized federal unemployment money because nearly 80% of job losses following the coronavirus panic have been recovered. The economy is rebounding because it was never shut down.

An Arizona restaurant owner says that many of her furloughed employees are staying home and have told her their pay from the government is better than working at her restaurant. She says there are about 30 job openings, but rehiring is challenging because people are comfortable with unemployment benefits.