None of Arizona’s “Free Money” Being Spent by Other States in Wake of Extended B

Private-sector employers in Arizona pay 100 percent of all unemployment benefits regardless if the benefits are paid from state or federal accounts. Public-sector or government unem¬ployment benefit liabili¬ties are paid on a pay-as-you-go basis and do not contribute to net balances in the corpuses of the various state and federal un¬employment insurance trust funds. Businesses are responsible for funding the state and federal accounts from which regular and extended benefits are paid. When the federal government “covers” extended benefits, the money is taken directly from an account that is 100 percent funded by the federal unemployment tax paid by private-sector employers.

No Other State Gets “Arizona’s Money”

The second biggest misunderstanding commonly repeated during the extended benefits debate was the idea that some other workers in some other state would be getting the benefits that Arizona is not accessing. Our unemployment insurance system is not set up like 2009’s federal stimulus program that committed the U.S. Treasury to spend a fixed amount of money and spread it around to those states participating. Instead, extended unemployment benefits are paid based on a state’s underlying unemployment insurance structure and limits. By Arizona not extending benefits beyond 72 weeks, the federal accounts providing liquidity will not accrue more negative balances that must be repaid with interest through taxes on private-sector employers. Moreover, Arizona saved the federal government from needing to add to the $14.3 trillion national debt to loan cash to the FUA and EUCA accounts to cover extended benefits past 72 weeks.

The debate over the extension of unemployment benefits is an important one requiring the careful and considered judgment of our elected representatives in Congress and state legislatures. But that debate must not be distorted by erroneous information and the misreading of fundamental facts. Arizonans out-of-work through not fault of their own and the private-sector businesses responsible to pay taxes to fund unemployment benefits deserve a full and fair debate based on the truth, not misrepresentations.

# # #

Farrell Quinlan is state director for the National Federation of Independent Business which has 7,500 small business members in Arizona.

UI Outlook: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/content/prez_budget.asp

Thursday, June 16, 2011


None of Arizona’s “Free Money” Being Spent by Other States in Wake of Extended B Private-sector employers in Arizona pay 100 percent of all unemployment benefits regardless if the benefits are paid from state or federal accounts. Public-sector or government unem¬ployment benefit liabili¬ties are paid on a pay-as-you-go basis and do not contribute to net balances in the corpuses of the various state and federal un¬employment insurance trust funds. Businesses are responsible for funding the state and federal accounts from which regular and extended benefits are paid. When the federal government “covers” extended benefits, the money is taken directly from an account that is 100 percent funded by the federal unemployment tax paid by private-sector employers. No Other State Gets “Arizona’s Money” The second biggest misunderstanding commonly repeated during the extended benefits debate was the idea that some other workers in some other state would be getting the benefits that Arizona is not accessing. Our unemployment insurance system is not set up like 2009’s federal stimulus program that committed the U.S. Treasury to spend a fixed amount of money and spread it around to those states participating. Instead, extended unemployment benefits are paid based on a state’s underlying unemployment insurance structure and limits. By Arizona not extending benefits beyond 72 weeks, the federal accounts providing liquidity will not accrue more negative balances that must be repaid with interest through taxes on private-sector employers. Moreover, Arizona saved the federal government from needing to add to the $14.3 trillion national debt to loan cash to the FUA and EUCA accounts to cover extended benefits past 72 weeks. The debate over the extension of unemployment benefits is an important one requiring the careful and considered judgment of our elected representatives in Congress and state legislatures. But that debate must not be distorted by erroneous information and the misreading of fundamental facts. Arizonans out-of-work through not fault of their own and the private-sector businesses responsible to pay taxes to fund unemployment benefits deserve a full and fair debate based on the truth, not misrepresentations. # # # Farrell Quinlan is state director for the National Federation of Independent Business which has 7,500 small business members in Arizona. UI Outlook: http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/content/prez_budget.asp Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Pulse - July 2011