To Gov. Jim Justice, it’s simple: Some West Virginia business owners have been carping in his ear about hiring problems as their operations get back to normal in what is, hopefully, the ebb of the coronavirus pandemic. To them, and, therefore, to Justice, it’s all because federal COVID-19 relief funds are providing an extra $300 a week to the unemployed.
So, Justice reasons, just cut those benefits off on June 19, even though there’s funding to pay them through Sept. 6. Starve people out. That’ll get them back on the job-hunting horse.
Of course, nothing is ever really that straightforward, especially after 14 months of a pandemic the likes of which hasn’t been seen in this country for more than 100 years.
Are there people staying home because they make more money with unemployment than if they were working a low-wage job? Probably. Are some of them doing this because, as Justice seems to suggest, they’re lazy? Maybe.
But it’s doubtful that narrative, which is purely anecdotal at this point, applies to most or even more than a few of the 42,000 West Virginians eligible for those benefits.
There are help-wanted signs everywhere. There’s no denying that. It seems like everyone is hiring. But where are most of those signs? At restaurants and retailers, many of which pay a low wage and might not offer things like health insurance benefits or paid vacation. Justice’s blinkered thinking can’t entertain the possibility that those reentering the workforce are evaluating their options and trying to find the best job they can. It can be difficult for a multimillionaire to grasp that, when in demand, the working class has options, too.
Also keep in mind that many West Virginians considered part of the workforce haven’t been fully vaccinated yet, and there still could be some uncertainty about safety. This has been a difficult time, and there are thousands of unique scenarios out there. But, for Justice, it’s easier to conclude that people are scamming the system out of laziness and must be cut off.
It’s shortsighted in another sense, because ceasing the flow of what will amount to $150 million in federal money likely will bruise the state’s economy. These benefits are in small, weekly $300 payments that allow people to patronize local businesses for food, necessities and, in some situations, to pay for their housing, among other things. That’s up to $150 million going straight back into West Virginia as these people try to find employment that the governor is deciding to flush down the toilet.
Justice probably thinks he’s being tough with this decision, but he’s being blind. West Virginia’s economy was in the dumps before this pandemic started. These federal stimulus packages are designed to get people back on their feet and help local economies recover.
Plenty of jobs, seemingly, are out there, but if you don’t look at what types of jobs those are and what types of wages and benefits they offer — or take into account what everyone has been through during the COVID-19 pandemic — you’re oversimplifying the problem. Right now, West Virginians need compassion and support, not a smack in the face from a part-time, wealthy governor calling them lazy scammers.
