Many Americans have relied on unemployment insurance after losing their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, due to a mistake made by state governments in which some Americans woke up to more money than the states intended to pay them, governments are now requesting this money be sent back.
Americans that were overpaid deserve it and should not have to pay it back to the states.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, states overpaid thousands of workers during the last couple of months.
States like Pennsylvania have reached out to recipients of overpaid unemployment and given them a choice of repaying the money in a lump sum or having their future benefits reduced.
On the other hand, Ohio has stated that claimants will simply have their future payments reduced until the money is fully paid back. CBS news reported that recipients who got an overpayment due to an error from the agency will not have to repay the money back.
The overpayment originates from incorrect wage information provided by the workers, according to the state.
The idea that state governments can ask for money back that has already been given to the American people is disheartening.
It is bad enough that the coronavirus relief debate is at a stalemate. With the coronavirus pandemic in full effect and showing no signs of ending, now is not the time for state governments to make mistakes like this.
Many middle and low-income Americans relied on unemployment payments when political leaders couldn’t compromise on economic relief efforts.
It is pointless to ask for the money back because those who received it have most likely spent the money already. It does not make sense to put more Americans in unnecessary debt by having them pay back the money due to a “technical error.”
The governments’ mistake raises the need to fix the unemployment system.
Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at the Century Foundation and an expert on unemployment insurance, said, “We have had a lot of signals that they have been underinvested in,” he said according to CBS News.
Since the states are demanding the money back, they should work on a comprehensible payment plan for the recipients and must factor in that people are dealing with financial hardships due to a pandemic. They could show leniency by not providing a deadline for the payments.
The average middle to low-income American will continue to face the economic side effects as result of the coronavirus pandemic. State governments that overpaid their unemployment recipients should not cut their unemployment nor demand that people pay it back fully.
