Well, doesn’t this tie into my last post nicely. You would think I planned that or something.
Why am I starting to think that the 2010 elections will be about three things: jobs, jobs, jobs? Even if unemployment continues down at 0.2% per month as it did from October to November it’s still going to be at 8% come September when the political races heat up and I don’t think we’re going to see that sort of steady decline by any stretch of the imagination.
This time, Larry Hogan talks about Maryland’s unemployment insurance system:
Today, Larry Hogan called on Martin O’Malley and the State Legislature to consider comprehensive changes to the way the unemployment insurance fund is operated.
“Raising unemployment taxes on job creators during tough economic times is counterproductive,” charged Hogan. “This is just another example of government getting in the way of economic recovery. The unemployment insurance fund needs an overhaul.”
“It sounded like a great idea. Keep unemployment taxes low when the account has plenty of money which meant business could keep more of their hard earned money,” said Hogan. “But, nobody thought about the reality – the only time the fund gets low is during tough economic times when claims rise. If people are losing their jobs, small businesses can’t afford the mandated higher unemployment taxes. Worse, they could be forced to lay off even more employees just to pay the higher taxes!”
“Governor O’Malley’s piecemeal approach to handling this economic crisis has created tremendous instability in our local economy. Short sighted fixes are not the solution,” charged Hogan. “Marylanders deserve better from their Governor. We deserve leadership that focuses on putting our state on strong foundation for generations – not months.”
Martin O’Malley and legislative leaders are considering making a handful of technical changes to the unemployment laws so Maryland can qualify for a one time payment of just over $125 million. Some experts believe that the annual cost to implement the required federal changes will be around $20 million. In six years, the one time infusion of federal aid would end up costing Maryland small businesses an additional $20 million in unemployment insurance each year.
In truth, I was waiting on the next paragraph to tell me what Hogan would do differently, but, aside from the blurb about him being O’Malley’s leading challenger and giving Steny Hoyer a run awhile back, he said nothing else. I guess he doesn’t want the federal money (that’s fine, I don’t either.)
The only problem with Larry’s anaolgy is that six years is two political lifetimes in this day and age and, as short-sighted as politicians (and voters) tend to be, that’s a good amount of time to kick the can down the road to get votes here and now. Hogan makes a valid point in noting that businesses are hurting right now and ironically the rise in unemployment insurance premiums could be enough to throw still more people out of work, making the problem worse. It’s fortunate that the cycle runs so slowly that it’s not completely vicious, but, once again, people are unemployed and having trouble making ends meet right now; they’re not thinking about six years hence. Some may even have the attitude that businesses deserve this hike because they’re laying off workers to maximize profits.
It’s also unfortunate that Larry didn’t elaborate on another dimension of this: here’s yet another mandate from on high in Washington. In return for the thirty pieces of silver, Maryland conforms to whatever set of rules Fedzilla wishes us to have. In fairness, it could be common-sense sort of stuff – after all, if I buy a lottery ticket I do stand some tiny hope of winning – but if the rules were that sound we would have already adopted them, don’t you think?
I don’t know if this issue will resonate as clearly with voters as some others, though. As I mentioned, there are too many people who despise business because the media tends to give business a black eye and not bring out the obvious point that most businesses exist to make a profit so the owners can make their living.
Maybe what Hogan needs to do is find a “victim” like the Democrats often try to do – have a small businessman tell his tale of woe in the irony of laying off people to pay his unemployment insurance premiums. Now that may send a message, particularly if the businessman is a well-loved one with a heart of gold and not Scrooge personified. That should not be too hard to find, should it?
