Reforms for PA’s UC Fund include CF Proposals

State Representative Scott Perry has proposed new legislation to reform PA’s bankrupt unemployment compensation (UC) fund. A few of his suggested reforms are CF recommendations, including:

  • Tighten financial eligibility requirements.
  • Require an active job search to be done by a recipient.

House Bill 2577 is projected to save the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund $300 million to $400 million annually.

Reforming the UC fund gets to the root of the problem – overspending. On the other hand, constant UC benefit extensions exasperate both the financial instability of the safety net, and lead to even higher levels of unemployment. Even Dan Onorato agrees benefit extensions are not a permanent solution.

Today’s Wall Street Journal lists a number of studies that offer such an economic consensus. The authors conclude:

Americans tend to support jobless benefits on compassion grounds, but at some point such a policy becomes the false compassion of welfare by keeping people out of the job market and thus not learning new skills.