Decius wrote:

The unemployment insurance system is expensive and fails to create the right incentives. It's easy for people who don't need it to collect and lie on "looking for work" statements without seriously pursuing a job. It only exists for a short time period that is not taylored to individual circumstances.

Solution: Replace unemployment insurance with unemployment loans that must be repaid.

My second idea.

You'd probably have to garnish whatever wages a person gets once they find a job. Assuming their debt didn't grow while unemployed (which it more than likely increase) this would require more people needing hire paying jobs than are probably available. If its in a suburban retail hell environment, the loans might not reasonably be able to be paid back as the jobs available may not be able to sustain them plus living expenses. They may likely end up on other types of social aid.

So if someone is near poor, I don't think this would work. If someone pulls in 50,000+, the loans might work better as they would have better means to be paid back.

What might reduce the burden overall might be to pause some debts (like credit cards, loan payments, and other pay over time type debts) while someone is collecting unemployment insurance (they should pay these bills themselves, not taxpayers). This would likely reduce the burden of bankruptcy as well.

terratogen wrote:

So if someone is near poor, I don't think this would work. If someone pulls in 50,000+, the loans might work better as they would have better means to be paid back.

I think that makes sense. A hybrid approach is probably best...

What might reduce the burden overall might be to pause some debts (like credit cards, loan payments, and other pay over time type debts) while someone is collecting unemployment insurance (they should pay these bills themselves, not taxpayers). This would likely reduce the burden of bankruptcy as well.

Good luck in getting that to happen after the recent hard ass bankruptcy bill.

k wrote:
[ What do you do when people default? Put them in jail, i guess?

They owe it unless they declare bankruptcy and then perhaps you drop it. I really don't know what happens in our society if people just flat out refuse to pay debts. I don't think they wind up in prison, but I think it does put you in a situation where it is very difficult for you to function in society.

Those that are gaming the system, who have very little to lose probably, won't care about any penalty cheap enough to be applicable here.

Most of those that I've known who've gamed this system were quite wealthy. They just felt like they could "hang out" on unemployment for a while rather then really bothering to look for a job.