Obama Administration to Kick-Off New Unemployment Program
| Obama administration on Thursday will kick-off a program that allows people to experiment with a new job while still receiving unemployment benefits as part of an effort to help some 5.3 million Americans who have been out of work for six months or longer.
Ten states will be able to apply to participate in the program, and the Labor Department will announce the application process Thursday. It’s modeled after an unemployment program in Georgia. Under that program, workers continue to collect unemployment benefits, plus a small stipend to cover transportation and other expenses–at no cost to the employer. After eight weeks of training, the company may hire the person, or not. It can amount to a free tryout. Georgia’s program has found some success, though economists have expressed concern that it may allow employers to cycle through workers without actually hiring any. The president has referred to Georgia’s approach as a “smart program” that helps people get their foot in the door. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/04/19/obama-administration-to-kick-off-new-unemployment-program/ |
Publius Prime 
That might be, ken; but in this case, he looks to be attempting to apseape his anti-war followers and war critics, without actually implementing any actual, meaningful change; not without leaving him an “out”. I think Obama might be serious enough about his legacy, that he’s trying to come to terms with the reality that what the Bush Administration was doing might not be so partisanly whacked out, after all.
Another gimmick to reduce unemployment numbers during an election year. The worker can keep receiving his unemployment benefits while he test-drives the job. And with such an arrangement, why should the worker actually want to keep the new job when he can just pick-up and leave when he’s had a bad day and start the process over…… and over.