I don't understand your main argument that the bonuses are ok if they were given to employees in profitable areas of the company.
Last time I checked, a company's profit and share price were the sum total of all the parts of the company. If the company is bankrupt then everyone suffers - there is no credit given for your work at that point.
If a player on the World Series losing team had a great series - do they still win a bit of the championship?
@Guest22: I know how much it costs to live in one of the most expensive counties in California, but I also know families that make it here less than $3000 a month. It takes work, but it's doable.
@Guest21: Like I said, you don't need a minimum wage job if your unemployment benefits pay more than minimum wage, because there is really no point. You are not living high on the hog, but there is no incentive to get an $8 an hour job when your unemployment benefits pay $8.25 an hour. If you haven't figured that out then you should calculate it a bit. I'm not making a judgement, just a logical observation.
You don't understand the situation. Unemployment is higher here than any other state. Do you honestly think the majority of us sit at home calculating what we get hourly with our unemployment checks? Do you honestly think we sit there thinking "hell, I'm living high on the hog. i don't need to work"? I wish it were so easy to grab a minimum wage job right now. It's easy for an employed person to look down on us and make snap judgements.
I can personally say that many young people (even those living with parents) are actively looking for jobs, not just living off unemployment. Honestly, 2000 a month is not bad but it's at the expense of forgoing gaining work experience. As a young professional with little debt, I put much value in gaining relevant experiences to prepare for the rebound of the economy (hopefully soon) and a good career in the future. Unemployment helps to pay the bills when there isn't real income, but anyone with some degree of motivation and career goals would not settle on that over a real job in their prospective fields (even if the pay is lower).
My son is a laid off union electrician. His benefits will run out withing 3 months. Now that is incentive to get back to work! Either way, the extended benefits is a good thing. He really wants to work, and having just "come out of his time" as a Journeyman, he wants to stay in the trade it took 5 years to apprentice in. Maybe we need to stop over-analyzing everything.
My point is that if unemployment benefits are too generous, then it makes people less motivated to take suckier jobs than if it were less generous. Also, the longer the benefits last the longer people will wait for the better job. For example, you are getting $250 a week, and that's less than $7 an hour, so if you find a job that pays $8 an hour you would be ahead of unemployment. (Actually unemployment might still be better due to the $2400 tax free for the year. If you work you'd be taxed a little.) However, if your benefit increased to $475 a week, then you need a job that pays at least $12 an hour to beat unemployment, and if you are already getting $12 an hour on unemployment, then why bother taking the $12 an hour job? Usually jobs that pay more are harder to find, and thus there is less incentive to take a crappier job when you have more unemployment benefits. However, if you knew that your benefits were running out tomorrow, then you might be more inclined to take the crappier job, but the longer the benefits last, the more you would try to find a better paying one. I don't think it's naive to say this, and it is not necessary a bad thing.
#31 brings up a good point about taking the big trip before the baby comes. And we've talked about it with my wife. When it hit us that we probably had "one more big trip" left in us it was kind of depressing.
I called in sick legitimately in January for my shift with my former employer. My shift started at 4:00p.m. at 12:00a.m. my friend came over and convinced me that I should go out with him. I went out and had a couple drinks with him. The next day I went into work and everything was fine. Suddenly my boss came up to me and asked me if I went out last night. I Honestly I told him yes because I felt better that night. He then proceeded to tell me that that didn't "sit well with him" and told me to clock out and that I was fired. Of course then I inquired about receiving unemployment. It took six weeks before I was able to talk to someone competent with the UIA to tell me that my employer was stating that I was fired for poor job performance and that I was already suppose to receive a questionnaire for this employer. The UIA person told me to call the UIA number still every two weeks to get my benefits. I did that week and received my benefits finally. After this I finally got the questionnaire and filled it out and sent it back. Now it is March 27th and i receive a re determination stating that I was discharged from my employer for dishonesty and that I falsified the reason for my absence. Therefore, I must pay back the benefits I have been receiving since Feb. 5th! How is this possible? I did not falsify anything with my employer at all what so ever and was completely honest. Now UIA is telling me I should pay all this money back? I live in Michigan and I am still unemployed. Someone help plz.
I despise anyone that naively states that based on the increase, people receiving unemployment are less motivated to look for employment. Not everyone can qualify for the maximum of $475 in California. I made $26 grand a year and only qualified for $250 a week from unemployment.
I have busted my ass trying to find work. I have gone to several job placement agencies and they too are having a rough time trying to get jobs to fill. What else am I supposed to do when job sites are filled with scam jobs and local businesses are shutting down?
The EDD has programs to help train the unemployed. The EDD also conducts random interviews to check in on recipients. They aren't going to just money away.
I ask that people like you do some more research into what the EDD is and what is does for the unemployed. Please do more than read a couple of articles before you post your next blog.
In these terrifying times, every unemployed person I know is desperate to find a decent job--not the "perfect job"--just something that will provide enough to live on. The only people I can see surviving on unemployment are kids living with their parents.
I also use cards for everything and pay it all off each month; the rewards are worth it to me. How I handle temptation is to have a pocket diary and write down every single thing I spend (cash or credit), even if it is $0.25 for a parking meter. Knowing that I will have a permanent (and immediate) record of a purchase makes it easy for me to say, "no thanks" to anything that is not absolutely essential.
Before I started writing everything down, I still paid it all off, but I didn't have the same level of control. Now, I don't even worry about it.
That IS weird, about the taxation. "Here is some money - oops, we're going to take some of that back! We could have just given you a little less to begin with, but that would be far too efficient!"
To the contrary, I think that the comment was meant as an insult. And I've always found Paul to be unabashedly liberal, although I really shouldn't speak for him on that. It's just that he occasionally raises a question and offers two sides to a story and is immediately labeled a conservative right off the bat by everyone around (this certainly isn't the first time I've seen it on a post).
$2000/month is the maximum benefit. If you lose your health/dental benefits when you lose your job, then COBRA kicks in (if your company doesn't go under). Since you have to pay these costs out of pocket, I know a few years ago for me, they were running about $1150/month to cover me and my family for health and dental. So its probably safe to say they're over $1200/month by now.
So your net after paying for health/dental insurance is about $800 which needs to pay for housing, car, food, utilities, etc. Hence the importance of having an emergency fund of about 6 months expenses on hand to help you weather thru this.
There are restrictions such as going back to school that may cause you to lose your benefit.
In CA, much of the process can be done via mail and over the web. The one time I was required to show up at an unemployment office for a session on how to use their resources, I was struck by the differences between the people there. A segment of us were from high tech jobs and companies but most of the people were working at "blue collar" positions.
So while I spent 6 months looking and interviewing before I was hired for the next job, I think the benefits are at the appropriate level. I had sufficient funds to allow my job search to extend that period. And I think in most cases, the benefits aren't enough to live on. They do make it easier to get by.
With CA unemployment heading to 10+%, its going to be difficult to find a new job at the appropriate level. I'm glad they extended the benefits, it seems the right thing to do. Even so, I think quite a few unemployed individuals will be in danger of losing their homes and savings in today's economic downturn.
well the new Obama stimulus is actually making the first $2400 nontaxable. Yeah it is kind of funny how it is taxed considering it comes from either unemployment tax or income tax to begin with.
Do you need to have had a job in Ca to collect Ca unemployment? I'm gainfully employed in NV and would gladly move across the border to collect $475/wk to relax and travel. I'm a capitalist and did not vote for this socialist regime but if you can't beat em....
Yeah J that's basically what I wrote about in the 4th paragraph. There is an efficiency in using unemployment to match people up to the jobs they qualify for.
I have a PhD in a scientific discipline. The US taxpayers invested more than $120,000 to train me in that field, via scientific training grants. For me to go to work as a dishwasher because I cannot immmediately find work in my field would not be an efficient use of government funds. It makes much more sense for me to collect unemployment (much less than my salary, which is also from government funds, by the way) for a few months, until I can find a job in my field.
Paul is an independent thinker, and I think he is pretty liberal for the most part so it is unlikely he is a Republican. Though as a sidenote, there is really no shame in being a Republican or Democrat so I'm not sure if Guest was trying to insult Paul.
The Digerati Life has Visa as a site sponsor. Objectivity, anyone?
I think he gets stereotyped because he is a white male. :P
I don't understand your main argument that the bonuses are ok if they were given to employees in profitable areas of the company.
Last time I checked, a company's profit and share price were the sum total of all the parts of the company. If the company is bankrupt then everyone suffers - there is no credit given for your work at that point.
If a player on the World Series losing team had a great series - do they still win a bit of the championship?
@Guest22: I know how much it costs to live in one of the most expensive counties in California, but I also know families that make it here less than $3000 a month. It takes work, but it's doable.
@Guest21: Like I said, you don't need a minimum wage job if your unemployment benefits pay more than minimum wage, because there is really no point. You are not living high on the hog, but there is no incentive to get an $8 an hour job when your unemployment benefits pay $8.25 an hour. If you haven't figured that out then you should calculate it a bit. I'm not making a judgement, just a logical observation.
You think $475 is genorous? Do you know what the cost of living is in California?
You don't understand the situation. Unemployment is higher here than any other state. Do you honestly think the majority of us sit at home calculating what we get hourly with our unemployment checks? Do you honestly think we sit there thinking "hell, I'm living high on the hog. i don't need to work"? I wish it were so easy to grab a minimum wage job right now. It's easy for an employed person to look down on us and make snap judgements.
I can personally say that many young people (even those living with parents) are actively looking for jobs, not just living off unemployment. Honestly, 2000 a month is not bad but it's at the expense of forgoing gaining work experience. As a young professional with little debt, I put much value in gaining relevant experiences to prepare for the rebound of the economy (hopefully soon) and a good career in the future. Unemployment helps to pay the bills when there isn't real income, but anyone with some degree of motivation and career goals would not settle on that over a real job in their prospective fields (even if the pay is lower).
My son is a laid off union electrician. His benefits will run out withing 3 months. Now that is incentive to get back to work! Either way, the extended benefits is a good thing. He really wants to work, and having just "come out of his time" as a Journeyman, he wants to stay in the trade it took 5 years to apprentice in. Maybe we need to stop over-analyzing everything.
My point is that if unemployment benefits are too generous, then it makes people less motivated to take suckier jobs than if it were less generous. Also, the longer the benefits last the longer people will wait for the better job. For example, you are getting $250 a week, and that's less than $7 an hour, so if you find a job that pays $8 an hour you would be ahead of unemployment. (Actually unemployment might still be better due to the $2400 tax free for the year. If you work you'd be taxed a little.) However, if your benefit increased to $475 a week, then you need a job that pays at least $12 an hour to beat unemployment, and if you are already getting $12 an hour on unemployment, then why bother taking the $12 an hour job? Usually jobs that pay more are harder to find, and thus there is less incentive to take a crappier job when you have more unemployment benefits. However, if you knew that your benefits were running out tomorrow, then you might be more inclined to take the crappier job, but the longer the benefits last, the more you would try to find a better paying one. I don't think it's naive to say this, and it is not necessary a bad thing.
#31 brings up a good point about taking the big trip before the baby comes. And we've talked about it with my wife. When it hit us that we probably had "one more big trip" left in us it was kind of depressing.
That's life though.
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I called in sick legitimately in January for my shift with my former employer. My shift started at 4:00p.m. at 12:00a.m. my friend came over and convinced me that I should go out with him. I went out and had a couple drinks with him. The next day I went into work and everything was fine. Suddenly my boss came up to me and asked me if I went out last night. I Honestly I told him yes because I felt better that night. He then proceeded to tell me that that didn't "sit well with him" and told me to clock out and that I was fired. Of course then I inquired about receiving unemployment. It took six weeks before I was able to talk to someone competent with the UIA to tell me that my employer was stating that I was fired for poor job performance and that I was already suppose to receive a questionnaire for this employer. The UIA person told me to call the UIA number still every two weeks to get my benefits. I did that week and received my benefits finally. After this I finally got the questionnaire and filled it out and sent it back. Now it is March 27th and i receive a re determination stating that I was discharged from my employer for dishonesty and that I falsified the reason for my absence. Therefore, I must pay back the benefits I have been receiving since Feb. 5th! How is this possible? I did not falsify anything with my employer at all what so ever and was completely honest. Now UIA is telling me I should pay all this money back? I live in Michigan and I am still unemployed. Someone help plz.
I despise anyone that naively states that based on the increase, people receiving unemployment are less motivated to look for employment. Not everyone can qualify for the maximum of $475 in California. I made $26 grand a year and only qualified for $250 a week from unemployment.
I have busted my ass trying to find work. I have gone to several job placement agencies and they too are having a rough time trying to get jobs to fill. What else am I supposed to do when job sites are filled with scam jobs and local businesses are shutting down?
The EDD has programs to help train the unemployed. The EDD also conducts random interviews to check in on recipients. They aren't going to just money away.
I ask that people like you do some more research into what the EDD is and what is does for the unemployed. Please do more than read a couple of articles before you post your next blog.
In these terrifying times, every unemployed person I know is desperate to find a decent job--not the "perfect job"--just something that will provide enough to live on. The only people I can see surviving on unemployment are kids living with their parents.
I also use cards for everything and pay it all off each month; the rewards are worth it to me. How I handle temptation is to have a pocket diary and write down every single thing I spend (cash or credit), even if it is $0.25 for a parking meter. Knowing that I will have a permanent (and immediate) record of a purchase makes it easy for me to say, "no thanks" to anything that is not absolutely essential.
Before I started writing everything down, I still paid it all off, but I didn't have the same level of control. Now, I don't even worry about it.
That IS weird, about the taxation. "Here is some money - oops, we're going to take some of that back! We could have just given you a little less to begin with, but that would be far too efficient!"
To the contrary, I think that the comment was meant as an insult. And I've always found Paul to be unabashedly liberal, although I really shouldn't speak for him on that. It's just that he occasionally raises a question and offers two sides to a story and is immediately labeled a conservative right off the bat by everyone around (this certainly isn't the first time I've seen it on a post).
$2000/month is the maximum benefit. If you lose your health/dental benefits when you lose your job, then COBRA kicks in (if your company doesn't go under). Since you have to pay these costs out of pocket, I know a few years ago for me, they were running about $1150/month to cover me and my family for health and dental. So its probably safe to say they're over $1200/month by now.
So your net after paying for health/dental insurance is about $800 which needs to pay for housing, car, food, utilities, etc. Hence the importance of having an emergency fund of about 6 months expenses on hand to help you weather thru this.
There are restrictions such as going back to school that may cause you to lose your benefit.
In CA, much of the process can be done via mail and over the web. The one time I was required to show up at an unemployment office for a session on how to use their resources, I was struck by the differences between the people there. A segment of us were from high tech jobs and companies but most of the people were working at "blue collar" positions.
So while I spent 6 months looking and interviewing before I was hired for the next job, I think the benefits are at the appropriate level. I had sufficient funds to allow my job search to extend that period. And I think in most cases, the benefits aren't enough to live on. They do make it easier to get by.
With CA unemployment heading to 10+%, its going to be difficult to find a new job at the appropriate level. I'm glad they extended the benefits, it seems the right thing to do. Even so, I think quite a few unemployed individuals will be in danger of losing their homes and savings in today's economic downturn.
well the new Obama stimulus is actually making the first $2400 nontaxable. Yeah it is kind of funny how it is taxed considering it comes from either unemployment tax or income tax to begin with.
My question is a bit off tangent but I'm curious to see why unemployment benefits are considered taxable income, seems a bit unnecessary.
Do you need to have had a job in Ca to collect Ca unemployment? I'm gainfully employed in NV and would gladly move across the border to collect $475/wk to relax and travel. I'm a capitalist and did not vote for this socialist regime but if you can't beat em....
J, a month is on average 4.33 weeks.
OK, fair enough. I guess I've been checking my Hebrew calendar too much lately ;-)
(love those lunar calendars...)
Yeah J that's basically what I wrote about in the 4th paragraph. There is an efficiency in using unemployment to match people up to the jobs they qualify for.
I have a PhD in a scientific discipline. The US taxpayers invested more than $120,000 to train me in that field, via scientific training grants. For me to go to work as a dishwasher because I cannot immmediately find work in my field would not be an efficient use of government funds. It makes much more sense for me to collect unemployment (much less than my salary, which is also from government funds, by the way) for a few months, until I can find a job in my field.
Paul is an independent thinker, and I think he is pretty liberal for the most part so it is unlikely he is a Republican. Though as a sidenote, there is really no shame in being a Republican or Democrat so I'm not sure if Guest was trying to insult Paul.