Hi Ranty Nation!  Ranty McRantyson har agin!

Ah’ve bin listenin to a buncha them Republican politicritters an’ve held mah tongue.  But over the course of the last couple weeks, ah’ve bin hearin more an more of folk repeating sum durned bull-oney that them politicritters’ve bin sayin.

The talkin point that’s got me all fired up today is the one bout how “thems poors’re gittin rich off the American Rescue Plan’s extended unemployment benefits of $300 per week”!  An whut’s wurse, so many regular folk’re starting to both believe an repeat this bull-oney.  An sum Republican state guvnurs’re refusin the federal gubmint’s money so as to punish folk who were gittin it so as they’d be forced to go back to wurk fur starvation wages..

So ah thunked ah’d talk a bit bout the reality of these state unemployment programs.  Cuz Tennessee (TN) is where ah live, ah’m gonna use it as an example fur whut folks normally git paid while on unemployment.  Ah wud imagine it’s much the same in other states.  At least give or take a bit, probably dependin on whether its a primarily “Red” or “Blue” state an the state’s “cost of living”.

Unemployment in Tennessee

Now Tennessee has a “cost of livin” rankin of bout 0.9, wit 1.0 being the average cost of livin in the US.  0.5 wud mean that the cost of livin is bout half the national average.  An 2.0 bein bout twice the average cost of livin.  Make sense so far?

Conditions to Receive Unemployment in TN

To git unemployment in TN, you need to meet a lot of conditions.

Furst, you can’t have bin fired frum yur wurkplace “fur cause” (thangs like stealin, refusin to wurk, discipline, not followin company rules, etc.).  Also, y’all can be refused fur quittin witout “gud reason”.  Now the problem wit this’n’s that yur former employer can contest y’all receivin unemployment benefits.  They’all’ve got a “gud” reason to do this cuz the more employees gittin unemployment, the higher they’s unemployment insurance premiums’ll be!

Ah thunk that most of this one makes SUM sense, but it still don’t stop folk frum hurtin frum bein unemployed.

Secund, y’all gotta do a lot of wurk tryin to find a new job to git unemployment.  Har in TN, y’all have to make three wurk search contacts a week.  An y’all have to take any job offered to you.  Not an equivalent job or one that’ll pay the bills, but any job offered.

Now, y’all’re probly sayin, “Wait a secund, Ranty, that last one don’t sound right.”  Well, ah unnerstand whut y’all mean.  It don’t make much sense to me either.  Har’s whut the TN gubmint says:

Failure to accept a referral for work, or not accepting available and suitable work

So, y’all’re probly thunkin, “See, Ranty, told ya so!”  Well, mah problem is in two parts.  Let’s talk bout them.

“Failure to accept a referral for work”

If’n y’all can look at that an tell me whut it means, ah’d appreciate it, cuz ah shure don’t know whut it means.  Frum mah readin of it, it means that whutever yur unemployment “case wurker” wants it to mean.  Har’s an example:

The Unemployment office says, go wurk fur XYZ Company.  Now y’all may not want to wurk fur them fur sum reason (e.g. don’t like they’s reputation), y’all thunk wurkin the job y’all’ve bin referred fur ain’t gonna help y’all’s career, it’ll be durned hard to git to they’s place of wurk, etc.

Y’all might be thunkin that the “career” one is BS, but thunk bout it.  Let’s say y’all’re a healthcare wurker wit a specialization.  An the referred job don’t use y’all’s specialization.  Y’all’re gonna have two main problems.  Furst, y’all’ll probly have to do a lotta learnin to git gud at the new job (an git fired frum it cuz y’all might not git up to speed quick enuf).  Second, wurkin that job’ll probly make it harder to git a job in y’all’s specialization cuz y’all’ll be gittin “outta practice”.  Employers don’t like that, so they might pass on you fur sumone who dun got recent experience.

Kinda a “Catch-22” ain’t it?  Y’all’ve gotta take a job even if’n it might make you more unemployable in your career!

“Failure to… [accept] available and suitable work”

Now this’n’s purty tricky.  It basically leaves whut is “available” an “suitable” up to the Unemployment wurker.  Most folk’d want to git jobs that paid at least whut theys wuz gittin paid at theys last job.  Preferbly a bit more cuz they’s more experienced.  But to the Unemployment Benefits offices in many states, a job’s, a job’s, a job.  They’s job is to git you wurkin so as y’all ain’t drawin unemployment no more.

Course that benefits employers cuz they’s can offer y’all lower pay an, in many states, y’all have to take it or them employers’ll “turn y’all in” an git y’all kicked off unemployment.  The cards’re stacked aginst the wurkers an fur the employers in our current system.  An that’s a long way away frum whut it wuz like when unions were strong!

Leadin Up To…

An this leads us to whut’s goin on in these “Red” states (an even sum mostly “Blue” states).  It’s no secret that most Red state politicritters don’t like the idea of, say, a $15/hr minimum wage.  An they’s want to git wurkers back to wurk, regardless of how much the job pays and/or if’n it’s a gud job fur the wurker.  Nope, they’s want to git people wurkin.  Frankly, the wurse the job is fur the wurkers, the better it is fur they’s donors (mostly big business and the rich).

Ah mean, just look at Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.  He’s fightin like crazy aginst a $15/hr minimum wage.  Whut he’s not tellin anyone is that he’s a part owner of a hotel chain whose profits might be hurt (in the short term) if’n wages were increased.  Fact is, that in the vast majority of states in the US, Sen. Manchin’d be runnin as a Republican, not a Democrat.  Shoot, he votes with Republicans more’n he votes with Democrats!

Conditions to be Refused Unemployment Benefits in TN

Of course, as unfriendly as the “conditions to git unemployment” is har in TN, it’s wurse fur the reasons y’all cud be kept frum gittin Unemployment.  Har’s a couple examples:

• Voluntarily moving to another location
• Lack of transportation
• Lack of childcare
• Quitting to take care of a friend or relative

They’s be more, but ah’m jus gonna tackle these four reason’s fur denyin or losin Unemployment.

Voluntarily Moving to Another Location

Har’s the thang bout “voluntary”.  It ain’t defined.  An ah wudn’t count on they’s definition bein the same as yurs.  Many folk found it difficult to pay theys bills cuz a lot of companies cut wages fur employees.  Ah know that, in most cases, it wuz necessary, but that don’t mean them folks cud afford to keep payin all they’s bills wit they’s new paychecks.  That forced many folk to move to cheaper places to live… an that put them farther frum wurk.  Now, if’n y’all lose yur car well…

Lack of Transportation

This basically means that if’n y’all don’t have transportation, then y’all can lose yur unemployment benefits.  An it can expensive tryin to keep transportation on unemployment!

Lack of Childcare

Fortunately, fur the most part, schools are openin back up, folks, including teachers, are gittin vaccinated, an this’n is lookin like less an less of a problem.  But that weren’t so jus a few short months ago.  Many schools were doin remote teachin and sumone had to keep an eye on them kids.  Wit childcare costing upwards of $10,000+ a year (dependin on where y’all live), that basically can mean that sumone makin jus $15/hr wud only be takin home bout $10-12/hr after taxes… agin, dependin on where y’all live.  If’n y’all make less than that, well, it jus gits wurse!

Quitting to Take Care of a Friend or Relative

This’n is the most cold blooded of them rules.  Ah wudn’t mind it so much if’n theys wuz a medical exemption fur COVID-19 or disabled caregivers, but to tell sumone the person y’all love, who can’t take care of theyselfs is just gonna have to suffer cuz y’all need to git out there an wurk jus don’t seem right.

Of course, if’n our country grew sum guts an decided to take care of them who can’t take care of theyselfs, this probly wudn’t be an issue.  But it is.  Especially with “long COVID” sufferers an the disabled.

Ah thunk we REALLY need sumthin like Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare-Fur-All legislation.  It wud solve so many problems we’all’re havin now an wudda helped reduce the number of COVID-19 deaths, literally by tens or even hundreds of thousands of folk.  Not to mention all them folk who were hospitalized an ended up broke cuz of it!

Whut Yur Eligible to Git Fur Unemployment Benefits in TN

So, let’s look at whut yur eligible to git fur Unemployment har in TN.  An ah’m jus gonna ignore the $300 per week that the American Rescue Plan’s givin unemployed folk.  Ah’ll pick that up below.

The calculations an headaches’ll probly be much the same in most states, jus wit sum of the details a bit differnt.

Whut’s Y’all’s Unemployment Benefit Based On?

Most states’ve got sum variation on this har theme in TN, so ah’ll jus continue usin TN as an example.

Standard Base Period

Furst, we’ll’ve gotta figure out whut our “Standard Base Period” pay’ll be.  In TN, the Standard Base Period is “the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the date your initial claim is filed.”  Clear as mud, right?

Well, in Merican language, whut that means is they’s 4 quarters in a year.  1st Quarter: Jan-Mar, 2nd Quarter: Apr-Jun, 3rd Quarter: July… well, y’all git the idea.  Now, the end of the last quarter is when this whole quarter starts.  Then count back 5 quarters an then use the next 4 quarters after that.  Got it?  Don’t feel bad, ah didn’t at furst either.  Let’s use a quick example.

Let’s say it’s September 15th, 2020.  That means we’all’re in the 3rd quarter (the 4th Quarter don’t start til October 1st).  So now we gotta go back to Jun 30 and start countin back 5 quarters.  So let’s count back 5 quarters:

1 quarter = Mar 31, 2020
2 quarters = Dec 31, 2019
3 quarters = Sep 30, 2019
4 quarters = Jun 30, 2019
5 quarters = Mar 31, 2019

Ok, now let’s count forward 4 quarters to git our “year” that we figure our pay fur:

1 quarter = Apr 1, 2019-Jun 30, 2019
2 quarters = Jul 1, 2019-Sep 30, 2019
3 quarters = Oct 1, 2019-Dec 31, 2019
4 quarters = Jan 1, 2020-Mar 31,2020

Now if’n y’all will notice that they’s bout 5+ months of earnins this year that don’t count toward whut y’all bin makin.  If’n y’all’re like most folk, y’all wud’ve gotten a raise during the entire 17+ month time period.  Sum wudn’t’ve made more later on, but the majority wud’ve.

So y’all add up all that y’all made during them “furst four quarters” and that’s yur pay fur the “Standard Base Period”.

How Much of That Will Y’all Git?

So let’s say y’all were gittin paid a whoppin $15/hr or ~$31,000/year (a bit more than the median wage har in TN) during the “Standard Base Period”.  The State of Tennessee dun says:

The maximum amount of benefits you may be eligible to receive in your benefit year is either 26 times your weekly benefit amount (WBA) or one-fourth of your base period wages—whichever amount is less will be used for your claim.

So whut does that mean?  Well, it goes like this…

Sum Mathimacation

If’n y’all were wurkin 40 hours a week, that means y’all wud be makin bout $15/hr * 40 hours = $600/week.  They’s bout 4.3 weeks per month, on average, so that comes to $600/week * 4.3 weeks = $2580/month.  $2580/month * 12 months = $30,960, assumin y’all didn’t take no vacation or wuz off sick an such.  Not bad fur a single person har in TN, but not so gud fur a family.

“WBA”

But whut does the rest of that legalese mean?  Let’s start by lookin at the “26 times your weekly benefit amount (WBA)” thang?  Whut’s that mean?

Well, near as ah can figure frum the page at the bottom of this article, the WBA is the $275/week maximum unemployment benefit.  And y’all can only git that fur 26 weeks per year.  That comes to $275/week * 26 weeks = $7,150/year in maximum unemployment benefits, regardless of how much y’all were makin befur or how many mouths y’all have to feed in yur house.  Guess we’all’re supposed to starve the other 26 weeks a year.

“1/4 Yur Base Period Wages”

Now let’s look at the “one fourth of your base period wages” part furst.  Whut that means is y’all’ll be eligible fur UP TO 1/4 of yur Standard Base Period wages.  So let’s figure that out.  Let’s see, $30,960/year * .25 (1 quarter) = $7,740/year in maximum Unemployment.  That ain’t gud.

Now Jus Wait a Secund Har!

But oops!  Ah furgot that the most y’all can git is $7,150 per year, so y’all’re losin bout $600/year cuz y’all “made too much”.  An the loss gits wurse the more money over ~$31,000/year y’all make!  Makin $50,000 per year?  Y’all’ll only git $7,150/ year rather than $12,500/year (1/4 of $50,000).

How’s sumone supposed to live off that?  It barely covers food, gas, an utilities, much less rent, car payment, credit card payments, etc.!

Whut Bout the $300/week Frum the Federal Guvmint?

Well, let’s add that in to the numbers.  An we’all’ll look at that “median income” Tennessean.  At ~$30K/year, they’s making bout $600/week.  But they’s only gittin bout $275 a week in unemployment frum the state of TN (an they’s bin havin to go out lookin fur a job to meet requirements durin a pandemic).  So, if we add that $300/week frum the federal guvmint, that comes to $275 + $300 = $575/week.  Less than whut they’s wuz makin when wurkin.  Almost whut they’s wuz makin befur, but not there an hardly livin “high on the hog”.

“Livin High on the Hog”

But them poors’re supposed to be makin a killin an livin it up all rich like.  Well, that’s a buncha bull-oney too.  Up til recently, say since middle of April/beginnin of May, most of the country wuz still operatin under restrictions by the CDC.  Of course, the politicritters in states like TN decided to ignore that advice an let they’s citizens git COVID (spikes since bout Jan 1st have mostly bin in Red states (per capita)).

An even now, wit all the anti-vaxxer/anti-masker/anti-science bull-oney goin round, they’s a lotta folk that’re lookin at that 600,000+ dead Mericans number an thunkin, “Do I want to risk my life fur less than $15/hr?  Uh, no!  Doh!”

So, at best, fur most of the less than median income Mericans that’ve found themselves outta wurk because of no fault of they’s own, they’s able to live witin spittin distance of how they’s did befur.  And jus bout ALL of that money is goin directly back into the economy, keepin it runnin an breathin.

More Bout that Cost of Livin Thang

They’s always “jus one more thang”.  An it has to do wit the cost of livin.  Now it ain’t that the “cost of livin” don’t mean anythin, but it certainly don’t cover all the problems.

Ah’m gonna give jus one example of whut ah’m talkin bout…

Housing

Cost of housing differences are higher than the “cost of living index” would indicate.  An this has a cost that them economistical folk don’t talk bout much.  This is cuz the main way fur regular folk to build whut theys call “intergenerational wealth” is by buyin a home.

Problem is that after the “Great Recession” (aka “The Housing Bubble”), the guvmint “encouraged” banks (various “incentives”) an other lenders to buy up homes an then sell them or rent them out.  Turns out “institutional real estate investors” found theys cud make a lotta money frum buyin all them houses on the cheap, hole the houses fur a couple years an then sell them to folk for a lot more than they bought them fur.

Even better fur sum of them folk, theys found that there’re a lotta folk who’d rather rent a house fur the same price as the same size apartments.  Yep, they’d git the houses cheep an then make gud money frum rentin.

Rich Investors Buyin Up Houses

These days, wit the recession we’all’re in/headin toward, institutional real estate investors’re doin the same thang, but the rich folk whose money they represent’re gittin even richer cuz of the stock market.  But ah thunk they see sum storm clouds on the horizon an figure that they shud move theys money to sumthin a bit more stable… like the real estate rental market.  Building apartments costs lots of money an takes lots of time.  So they figure its cheaper/quicker to jus buy existin homes.

This is great fur them cuz they get assets that’ll appreciate over time.  An, since folk need places to live an wud rather live in a house than an apartment, they figure they’ll let the renters pay off they’s investment properties.

The Up an Down Side

This leads to the real problem.  The institutional investors have A LOTTA CASH!  An they know they can outbid regular folk an know they’s money’ll be safe over the long run.  They gits to git the wealth accumulation while the renters don’t.  Fur them it’s a win-win.  Fur regular folk it stinks.

There is ONE up side to this… if y’all’re luck enuf to own a house y’all want to sell.  If’n y’all do, y’all can probly git 20% or more than y’all cud git jus 6 months ago.

This has a bad effect on the under/un-employed.  Apartment rents’re goin up too cuz of “market conditions”.  An buyin a house is most likely either outta reach or sellers won’t take a mortgage sale over a cash sale.

The Bottom Line:  Housing Edition

The bottom line of this is that sum folk (sellers) are able to increase they’s wealth (at least until theys gotta buy again).  Institutional real estate investors will get houses that’ll appreciate over time AN theys git other folk to pay fur them houses.  An regular folk’re blocked frum the main way they can create “inter-generational” wealth (wealth that can be passed frum one generation to the next).

The thing is that part of the Merican Dream is ownin yur own home.  A dream that is gittin further an further outta reach fur many Mericans, specially the under/un-employed.

The Bottom Line:  Unemployment Edition

Tween the games an limits to Unemployment Insurance an the increasing trouble wit gittin intergenerational wealth fur regular people through home ownership we’all can see that they’s bin a “class warfare” goin on fur sum time now.  It is, an always has bin, tween the rich an regular folk.  It kicked into overdrive bout 40 years ago an has bin gittin wurse an wurse as time goes on.

An all these games wit the Unemployment Insurance benefits’re jus leading to the gud ol USofA havin more Trumpvilles than we’all have now!

Whut makes thangs wurse is that this little bit of money folks’re gittin frum regular Unemployment makes it even harder for them to negotiate with potential employers, further tilting the scales of power frum regular folk to the rich, powerful, an corporations!  It’s all geared toward makin regular folk “wage slaves” to employers.

Don’t git me wrong, they’s sum gud employers out there an a whole bunch who’re doin the best they can fur they’s employees.  But fur everone that’s tryin to help, I’ll bet they’s at least one who’s doin they’s best to take advantage of wurkers.

Keep yur eye on the ball, Merica, cuz all these games the politicritters an the rich’re playin’s movin the Merican Dream more an more outta reach fur “We, the People”!

Ranty McRantyson signin off.

References:

Tennessee Unemployment Benefits and Eligibility