In this time of crisis, government response and support are at an unprecedented level. This situation provides an opportunity to examine where bureaucracy functions well, and where it does not.
A glaring issue is unemployment insurance. Overwhelmed by the large number of Americans facing layoffs and furloughs, the system struggles to respond across the nation and here in South Carolina. Millions who pay into unemployment insurance struggle to get in touch with their state office, much less receive the payments they need to survive.
This Depression Era system is outdated and showing the strain it places on state government and workers. It was built for a different American economy in a time of extreme unemployment. We find ourselves facing similar levels of people out of work now. Instead of adapting, unemployment insurance offered through the government has done little to change with the employees it was built to serve.
American workers need choice with their income as it relates to potential unemployment. Privatized unemployment insurance would allow employees to choose how to save. That could be through their own investments, or through a traditional insurance option. Individuals rarely have a say in when they are affected by job loss or reduction. But they should have the option of how to manage their wage replacement. The government needs to give control back to the employees and allow the private sector to offer a creative and effective solution to unemployment. Instead of backlogged bureaucracy, let American ingenuity solve the problem