Boost Unemployment Insurance to prevent Unemployment filings

One of the best tools we have to prevent economic devastation in a recession—or global pandemic—is unemployment insurance. Unfortunately, Louisiana has some of the nation’s meagerest unemployment insurance, and it’s needlessly hurting our people and our economy. Fortunately, there’s never been a better time to fix it.

Some people believe that unemployment benefits drain the economy and disincentivize work. Those beliefs are not based on facts.

Research confirms that unemployment insurance spending has a critical positive impact on the economy, giving Louisianans money to spend on rent, bills, food, and other essentials. That money goes straight into the local economy, keeping small businesses open and fueling the tax base statewide.

A 2015 study by Columbia Business School found that “where unemployment benefits are more generous, the local economy tends to react significantly less sharply to negative shocks.” The same study showed that for every dollar given in unemployment benefits, nearly two dollars are generated in local economic activity. A recent Yale study of the federal $600 expanded unemployment benefits found “workers who experienced larger increases in unemployment insurance generosity did not experience larger declines in employment when the benefits expansion went into effect.”

The time is now to increase our unemployment benefits. It’s one of the most important things we can do to help our economy. And by doing it, we will inject money into our state with almost no downside.

According to Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Dejoie, the federal government will be loaning Louisiana’s unemployment trust fund money at zero percent interest through the rest of 2020, and at a negligible two percent interest rate beginning in 2021. Given the GDP growth and increased tax receipts that higher unemployment insurance would create, our state is losing large sums of money every day we keep our unemployment insurance benefits so low.

Additionally, after far too much Washington bickering, another federal stimulus bill is expected soon after the election and is expected to provide between $250 and $436 billion in aid for state and local governments. That would provide Louisiana with more than enough funding to replenish our unemployment trust fund.

It’s right in front of us. If we act now to expand our unemployment insurance, we can help our struggling people, increase our revenues, and grow our economy — keeping more people from ever needing unemployment insurance in the first place. I hope you’ll join me and support this effort.

– State Rep. Royce Duplessis
District 93

This article originally published in the October 12, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.