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Georgia’s UI trust fund, which pays the benefits, became insolvent after a decade of tax cuts in early 2000s. Lawmakers handed corporations tax breaks & tax “holidays” for years, draining more than $3B from the fund
In 2009, Georgia began borrowing from the federal government when the fund had a zero balance and the state could no longer meet its legal requirement to pay UI…(contd)
To pay back loan w/o adequately raising revenue from other sources, lawmakers borrowed general revenue funds from other programs (like Medicaid) & cut the duration of benefits drastically to 14 wks, placing burden of paying back the federal loan on the unemployed
Here we are in 2020, facing an unprecedented global pandemic and likely recession, and our UI system is not ready to withstand the demand from people who are being displaced from work because we’ve put in place costly barriers.
Last week, GA’s DOL commissioner & Governor acted fast to enact emergency changes to help improve eligibility for UI filers during the pandemic, including extending eligibility for ppl taking time from work due to #COVID19-related reasons.
Although these are important rapid response changes, these changes are a band-aid that will likely wash off when the incredible demand for UI starts flooding in the coming weeks. The @ajc already reported a nearly 400% spike in #unemployment claims the week of 3/16.
