More Bang From Extended Unemployment Bucks/Manufacturing Downturn

With unemployment benefits extending for many Americans throughout the first Obama term, and with manufacturing taking a downturn (in the U.S.A.-see Reuter's article)it would be a good idea to get more for the manufacturing and business sector from those millions of Americans collecting unemployment benefits that can't find a job. Matching the unemployed collecting benefits with potential employers that can't afford to hire could work. What is needed is creative thought and the will to win.

Let employers hire people collecting unemployment benefits at below to prevailing wage while the new workers keep collecting unemployment benefits for up to two years. Employers would need to pay insurance benefits and such, yet they might need to pay the new workers just 40% of the minimum, or 40% of the prevailing wage for that job. Employers could then afford to be productive at lower cost while the unemployed collecting benefits would earn more than just the unemployment check.

After two years the employer could decide to keep the  employee on and pay the prevailing wage as the U.I. benefits stop. Maybe the economy would be better by then. No employer that fires workers in a given area should be eligible to hire employees in that area for two years though-since some employers might take advantage of the availability of bargain price skilled workers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/us-usa-economy-manufacturing-idUSBRE8610QT20120702?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

In the economic cycle of consumerism-production, supply and demand buyers of product need to be able to afford product. It is also requisite that producers be able to afford workers to produce product. Producers and consumers benefit in the cycle when the consumer-workers earn more and when producers can afford to hire workers to manufacture product.


Letting potential workers sit idly as well as producers is a phenomenality of the low energy state conundrum where unemployment benefits aren't sufficient to allow major purchases. Those people should be at work. letting them work full time and keep their benefits two years (while employers contribute unemployment and social insurance at the full salary rate to workers employed at a steep discount) lets the economy tighten up with reduced numbers of idle individuals. Producers also have increased sales as workers have increased disposable income.