Many of them are also people who for example have been working in the restuarant industry for the past 17 years and they understand that they are simply reclaiming their own money that they have been paying into the system for years. They understand that some people were very fortunate to not have our communist infested government wreck their careers and that those lucky enough to not have been hit by closure mandates are not the only people who have ever worked hard in their lives.
Once again we have a LOT of people here on FR that are on some very high horses.
When I was young (a long time ago :-) ), I was laid off in the spring time and I had a decent nest egg...
I figured I had paid a fortune in taxes in my life already and it was time for .gov to give something back...so I milked unemployment and hung out at the beach for the summer.
I got a decent job in the fall and life moved on...
I always considered that a totally rational decision—I had a great summer!
I have been knocked off my high horse several times.
And I can do math. A $15 per hour job in retail is not enough to live around here on unless you live in your parent's basement. Might as well ride the unemployment pony as far as it will go. The money is considerably better.
And when that pony drops dead, the next best thing is to find some gig that pays under the table, so taxes don't bite you.
Yes, that stinks for a work ethic. The long-term prospects are poor. Maybe "Free Trade" was not such a great deal and we should not have exported all those jobs to China.
He's been
Too long in the wasteland
Too long in the wasteland
's what made him that way.
(James McMurtry, Too Long in the Wasteland, 1989)