What Happens When Government Benefits End?

Despite the panic warnings from liberals of impending catastrophe, long- term unemployment federal benefits were allowed to expire at the end of 2013.  The concerns of the left were over-wrought.

The truth is that people adapt to reality.  Human nature inclines people to choose the path of least resistance.  So when unemployment benefits cushion the economic consequences of not having a job, some people will delay serious searches for work while government checks keep coming.  Thus, historically, those covered by unemployment insurance are more likely to find a job the closer they come to the benefits cut-off date.

None of this should be startling news.  We are all susceptible to incentives, positive as well as negative.  If a person receives money for not working, that hardly serves as encouragement to seek employment ASAP.

 

Liberals, however, have difficulty in understanding this fact.  They underestimate their fellow humans.  They seem to expect people to be without recourse when government aid is halted.  It’s as if the will to survive is not recognized.  So the choice, as seen by the typical liberal, is dependency or abject poverty.

But most people reject that their options are so limited.

The Washington Post recently highlighted a person who had spent the maximum time on the unemployment insurance rolls.

What was she to do?  She turned to what she calls “legal hustling” to pay her bills, including her daughter’s college tuition.  Among her income-generating activities was driving neighbors on errands and helping others fill out paperwork.

She knew what she had to do.  “If you’re not creative in the economy, you’re going to be squashed”.  Bluntly put, to be sure, and so illustrative of the American “can-do” spirit (and of human nature in general).

Self-reliance is a trait the left is loath to acknowledge.  It detracts from its preconception that people need guidance from them and support from their government.  They choose to ignore the character of individuals and the role of the private sector (which is available to help those who do not lack the ability or character to survive without government help.)