| By el cabrero
The WV Center on Budget and Policy yesterday released a report detailing how the state could draw down federal funding to extend unemployment insurance for people who are exhausting their benefits.
This would be a good thing to do since unemployment is likey to get worse even if the "green shoots" of a recovery start to grow.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allows states to extend benefits by up to 20 weeks by temporarily changing the way the unemployment rate is calculated, but--there is always a BUT--this has to be done by the end of the year, which means a special session of the legislature.
To do it right, access to benefits should be made retroactive to June of this year. Again, taking this step would cost the state nothing, would help over 6,000 WV workers weather the storm and would inject over $30 million into the local economy.
If this makes sense to you, please consider raising this issue with the governor and the legislature. The clock is ticking.
Here's the press release about the new report and here's the whole thing.
(And don't forget to visit Goat Rope.) |
