The expansion will benefit the state: an influx of $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion a year, producing 18,000 to 25,000 new jobs and $497 million in additional tax revenue by 2021, according to the N.C. Institute of Medicine. This would dramatically affect the state’s economy, according to Gillespie’s article.
As Gillespie says declining the coverage will only hurt the residents. So will the new unemployment law.
It punishes people who’ve paid their fair share into the system, and are at their most vulnerable. The law cuts maximum weekly benefits to $350 from $535 and caps benefits at 12 to 20 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate, instead of the current 26 weeks.
The state has more than 400,000 jobless people. Slashing their benefits won’t help the state. It will only force them to become more dependent on state services. About 170,000 long-term unemployed workers in North Carolina will lose out on extra federal funds under the new law, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
A Republican-led legislature obsessed with reducing the budget so far looks like a legislature that cares more about the numbers than the people it serves.
The State’s Poor Are Under Attack (Commentary) was originally published on oldschool1053.com
