Not Wanting Jobs
A significant number of American voters seem to believe that the unemployed don’t really want jobs because they would prefer to live off unemployment insurance or other social benefits.
These are the voters that many Republicans (and some Democrats) are reaching for when they propose to “welfarize” unemployment insurance – imposing requirements for volunteer work or blanket drug tests.
Many such voters are also drawn to a particular austerity strategy my fellow Economix blogger Casey B. Mulligan laid out last week: cutting taxes for high earners and cutting subsidies for low earners. This strategy makes perfect sense if you believe that most people who are struggling to pay their bills aren’t trying hard enough.
About the Author
Nancy Folbre
Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Nancy Folbre’s work explores the interface between economics and feminist theory, focusing on non-market work and the evolution of social institutions governing public support for childrearing. She was a visiting fellow at the Russell Sage Foundation (2004-05), was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius” Fellowship and won the Leontief Prize of the Global Development and Environment ...
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