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Take politics out of helping people

Markets and economic conditions, not politics, should determine when additional unemployment assistance is needed.

Economic health is often painted with a broad brush by both politicians and reporters. While this may be adequate when looking at trends over time, it misses that economic conditions impact communities and industries differently. What may be a bust for some could be an economic boom for others.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a prime example of the varied economic impact.

During emergencies you do what you need to do and you spend what you need to spend in order to help people survive. There is a time to pass sandbags and a time to count pennies.

The challenge is knowing where on the spectrum communities and individuals are, or will soon be, so that resources are targeted to where they are most needed and not squandered where they are not.

An important takeaway from the pandemic is that additional unemployment assistance and stimulus programs were essential to protecting the health of the overall economy and preventing the slide into a prolonged recession. Government should look at targeted programs to provide assistance in times of crisis in the future. Rather than relying on politicians to put aside partisan bickering or their own self interests, leaders should take the time to establish benchmarks that will trigger additional assistance and likewise put timelines and conditions on when additional assistance will end.

The goal is to help people make it through lean times, not to get them addicted to feeding on the government dole.

The biggest economic hit of the pandemic occurred in April 2020 when state and local governments across the country declared states of emergencies and forced non-essential businesses to close their doors for weeks at a time. These shutdowns caused a massive spike in unemployment claims as Americans relied on this safety net to help them get by until they could get back to work.

Similar spikes occur during natural disasters where damage to the means of production, distribution or even the basic infrastructure prevent people from resuming their normal work.

A declaration of emergency could easily be the first benchmark to stepping up financial assistance programs for those unemployed due to a crisis. Just as states of emergency have a finite length that can be lengthened or shortened by action of the legislature, tying assistance to this clear benchmark makes sense and avoids situations where people make more money not working than working.

At the state and national level supplemental assistance was given to those forced into prolonged unemployment due to the slow reopening of the economy in areas hit hardest by the pandemic.

Rural areas, such as northern Wisconsin, felt the immediate economic hit, but quickly recovered as businesses reopened boosted by stimulus payments that helped people over the hump and largely prevented a prolonged recession.

Jobs in all sectors of manufacturing and food production continued strong throughout the past year gaining jobs and increasing wages to attract workers. As factory wages increased, many who worked in service or retail jobs switched to higher paying and steadier factory work. Others found that with higher wages from their primary job, they no longer had to juggle side jobs in order to make ends meet. From an economic and societal standpoint these have been good things for rural communities.

With businesses clamoring for workers, it is time to scale back on additional assistance programs and once again allow the market to take dominance in the regional economy. At the same time, government must remain watchful and be ready to quickly deploy focused assistance when needed.

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