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Comment by skwb | Hacker News Reader

The $600 UI benefits were mostly done as a means of practicality, because our unemployment systems were so out of date to efficiently calculate someone's actual wage. It's sorta a general broad stroke implimentation that figured that sure, some people may be "overpaid" compared to their regular wage, but the political necessity of passing it ASAP was so great that any delay would be immensely costly.

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> The $600 UI benefits were mostly done as a means of practicality, because our unemployment systems were so out of date to efficiently calculate someone's actual wage.

It wasn't about actual wages, which state unemployment systems already handle just fine. It was that many systems are too difficult to rapidly change to incorporate complex formula adjustments, but a flat +$N is more easily doable.

Not necessarily so! Gig (and self-employed) workers were included to participate in UI under CARES act, who normally are not eligible for UI benefits [1].

You are correct however in clarifying my statement above.

[1]. https://www.marketplace.org/2020/06/05/when-does-the-expande...

> Not necessarily so! Gig (and self-employed) workers were included to participate in UI under CARES act, who normally are not eligible for UI benefits

Sure, and handling them is a potential system problem, but not one addressed by the flat $600 vs. a more complex add-on choice.

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