(StrictlyNews.com) – There was a time in America when it was relatively common to hear hard-working Americans yell “Get a job!” at those who were often referred to as “bums” because they were panhandling or showed other signs of being unemployed. The “protestant work ethic” that their parents raised many Americans to honor meant it was a sin to be unemployed if you were healthy and capable of working.
To be blunt, Americans, often with good reason, looked down on those who were called “freeloaders” – people capable of work but who chose to play the welfare and unemployment systems for as much money as possible while everyone else went out and maintained a job.
Then, along came the coronavirus pandemic, and tens of millions of Americans were thrown out of work through no fault of their own. They weren’t freeloaders because the government had mandated lockdowns, and there were no jobs to be had. For that reason, the federal government stepped in. It supplied “enhanced” unemployment benefits that, in some states, meant an individual could receive more in unemployment payments than they’d been paid on the job they had when the pandemic struck.
New jobless claims fall for first time in a month https://t.co/RoezRDZJfG pic.twitter.com/QaU68q2IJ0
— New York Post (@nypost) October 7, 2021
However, as the pandemic wound down and a vaccine became available, jobs became available again. Yet, even though there were jobs available, millions of workers didn’t return to those jobs. Almost every community in the United States became populated with Help Wanted signs in the windows of stores and restaurants – a condition that remains today. So, once again, in America, it just may be fair to ask whether unemployed Americans have been freeloading on increased unemployment benefits and other forms of social welfare even after the pandemic is ending.
Copyright 2021 StrictlyNews.com