, Columnist
Biden’s Unemployment Checks Would Harm Economy
It made sense to pay people extra to stay home last March. It won’t make sense this spring.
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At a time when the economy is growing rapidly again, the last thing Congress should do is make unemployment more financially rewarding than working.
Unfortunately, a part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan would do just that. The president proposes paying unemployed workers a $400 weekly supplement on top of other jobless benefits they receive. If adopted, the additional funds will have the perverse effect of hurting the labor market, leading to more joblessness.