FGA Research Paper Encourages Congress to End the $300 Unemployment Bonus

NAPLES, Fla., Aug. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Last week, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) published a research paper to show the economic success brought by the expiration of the $600 unemployment bonus. It uses the trends seen by the expiration of the original $600 bonus to explain why states and Congress should allow the $300 unemployment bonus to expire.

The paper explains that the original $600 weekly unemployment bonus allowed five out of every six Americans to make more from unemployment benefits than from working. This discouraged unemployed Americans from rejoining the economy, created hiring barriers for businesses, and increased unemployment fraud. Similar trends have been seen with the $300 bonus with 89 percent of businesses reporting difficulty hiring.

FGA's research encourages government leaders to allow the $300 unemployment bonus to expire as scheduled in September by comparing the economic success seen after the expiration of the $600 bonus.

"There are more than nine million open jobs right now. Despite this, workers are spending more time unemployed. It has become clear that the extra cash provided by the government is the driving force keeping Americans from returning to the workforce," said Trevor Carlsen, Senior Fellow at FGA. "Congress should allow the $300 bonus to expire to encourage Americans to return to work and decrease government dependency."

More than half of states have chartered a new path and are rewarding work by opting out of the $300 unemployment bonus. Congress should allow the expiration of the $300 bonus to see similar economic success brought about by the expiration of the $600 unemployment bonus.

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The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, work, and election reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.

Media Contact

Kristen Eichamer, Foundation for Government Accountability, 239-300-9081x138, [email protected]

SOURCE Foundation for Government Accountability