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Comment by ketchupdebugger | Hacker News Reader

No one is quitting their job to just be on unemployment. Unemployment benefit is funded by unemployment tax on both corporations and individuals. The unemployment benefit for CA is $40 to $450 per week. (You still have to pay income tax on that) Its much lower in conservative states. Its enough to smooth things out but not enough to live off of, you are still going to be digging into savings. Additionally you have to provide proof that you are looking for jobs ever week. Its not like I can take a holiday in europe and still collect.

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No one is quitting their job to just be on unemployment.

I can understand someone who is unemployed and actively searching for a professional job to believe that, but I think that looks at the issue from a privileged position. No one is quitting their professional offices jobs just to be on unemployment, but I don't think the same can be said of lower income sh*t jobs.

Such a declarative statement of "no one" cannot be accurate because there is probably someone doing just that. Working a low wage job - maybe day labor - just long enough to qualify for benefits, then quitting and coasting until they have to work again.

It's possible, so how do you prevent it?

Low wage jobs only net you $40 a week. Thats $160 a month. Even if you pay no income tax, try living on $160 a month in any where America. Thats barely enough to pay for groceries for a single person for a month.

$40 a week? A full day at federal minimum wage is $58/day. FICA on that would be $8.87. That's $49/day. $49 * 7 > $40.

Even if you cut that in half that's still way more than $40/week.

And no, you're not paying federal income taxes on that low wage income.

40 a week on unemployment for low wage in CA

Ah ok you're saying UI after a low wage job is $40/wk. Understood.

There's also the benefit of food stamps, and housing assistance at that income level. Actual fraud may be rare. I cannot find a good study on fraud in benefits, but I don't think that detracts that safeguards should be put in place.

Food banks and SNAP/EBT and dumpster diving and community living. It's a lower standard of living in some ways, for sure, but you don't have to go to work and get to do art all day long. What's that worth to you?

> Its not like I can take a holiday in europe and still collect.

Legally, ethically, or morally? In the history of the world, there are definitely people who've done this, though the smarter move is to take a holiday in East Asia like the Philippines or somewhere else super LCOL rather than Europe.

> Its not like I can take a holiday in europe and still collect.

Last year I was vacationing in Sicily and I met a French girl who was doing just that: traveling Europe while collecting unemployment from her home country. I am in favor of generous unemployment welfare, but there should be controls in place.

You're correct because technically, you can't get unemployment if you quit. You have to be let go or fired in order to apply.

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