Grimm, Michael
7308 13th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11228
Dear Michael Grimm,
I understand you care about jobs and
taking care of the unemployed. After the 26 weeks of benefits from the regular
state-funded unemployment compensation program is over, many workers who are
unable to find a job can receive up to 14 additional weeks of benefits through
the federal EUC program. Although there are other programs that can financially
assist an unemployed worker – whether they live in a single home or with a
family – not everyone qualifies for these additional funds. Parents who don’t
qualify for these funds struggle to provide for their family, putting their family’s
health at risk. It is essential that unemployed workers, who have families they
must care for, receive unemployment benefits longer than unemployed workers
living in a single home.
Unemployed workers who are single do
not have anyone to care for. If a single unemployed worker had a job
opportunity that required him or her to move across the country to another
state, he or she would not have the burden of thinking about having to move
their entire family across the country as well. They do not have to worry about
having to find a new school for their children. They do not have to worry about
finding another health care provider for their family. As a single unemployed
worker, accepting a job is a lot easier to do even if it means having to work extensive
hours or even night shifts. You do not have anyone to provide for other than
yourself, so your money lasts a lot longer.
A
family who depends on someone who becomes unemployed suffers a lot more than unemployed
workers living in a single home. They do not have the luxury of moving across
the country or working weird hours like night shifts. The little money that is
saved from the unemployed worker’s paychecks must be divided and a portion must
be set aside towards every family member. Because of this, any savings would be
gone at a faster rate than someone who doesn’t have a family to care for.
In order to help these families, we
need to change the way eligibility is determined. We must consider the fact
that it might actually be easier for an unemployed worker living in a single
home to obtain a job must faster than someone with a family. I believe that
more funds should go towards those with families, and in order to obtain these
funds and not risk our economy’s well being, there must be stricter eligibility
requests for extending unemployment benefits to single-homed unemployed
workers. At the moment, eligibility to unemployment is easy to obtain, and
quite frankly extending benefits to someone who only has him or herself to look
after, seems completely absurd. We have to think about the benefits of
extending unemployment benefits to someone with a family. In order for our
economy to do well, money must be spent. People with families obviously spend
more money than single people because they have to buy more food to feed more
people. They have to buy things that a single person wouldn’t need to buy, like
diapers or clothes for children.
The idea of spending even more money when
we are in such debt could definitely be a reason to deny this request. According
to database, Issues and Controversies,
there have even been congressmen, including Sharron Angle, who reject the idea
of extending benefits to anyone because they believe that because they receive
unemployment benefits, unemployed workers no longer feel the need to work. However,
this idea is unfair to execute because it is a stereotype directed towards all
unemployed workers. It is also unfair for someone in congress who has a job and
earns a decent living to judge or even attempt to put him or herself into the
shoes of an unemployed, struggling parent.
I
can personally relate to this situation in that I have a single, unemployed
mother whose unemployment benefits were cut off after a year. Her position at
work was eliminated and so she was let go. My mother received benefits for a
little over a year and even though we barley got by with what she was
receiving, she never stopped searching for a job. I have a 3-year-old sister
and it is an extreme burden to know that my sister may not get as many
opportunities as another child because my mother is out of work, single, and is
not getting any sort of income. I myself have had to second guess my decisions
when it comes to money, especially college decisions, because I would never
want to jeopardize how much money my mother has for herself or my sister.
I am asking you to please work with
your colleagues to find a way to continue to give unemployed workers with
families unemployment benefits until they are able to find a job.
Sincerely,
Dasheily Richiez
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