Government ? Size gets in the way

One of the great reliefs as well as burdens of life is unemployment. You get a rest from the daily grind of the work world. You also get a sabbatical from the paycheck.

In the world of work, part of your paycheck is a deduction for unemployment funds. Plural because their are both state and federal funds. We pay in to these funds on speculation. They are used "if" we need it.

Stay employed for 40 or so years, then find out you need it. In the intervening your amount paid in builds and builds. So far, nothing innocuous. All funds are governed by rules to prevent fraud and abuse. However, bureaucracies are self perpetuating. They absorb people from the private workforce in to the protected field of government service. Smart people become drones. This is only a small percentage the total workforce.

It's not these employees that make the rules but politicians who may have no experience in the area they seek to regulate.

Case in point. The Oklahoma version of an unemployment fund says that you must be available for work in normal work hours. Seems logical. Except if you take a class in the daytime, you are not "available" for work. You get your unemployment benefits terminated or suspended. That would be a class that can upgrade your skills to get a job.

Case 2. If you find part time work, you must report those earnings. They will then be deducted from your benefits. Still fine. But wait, there's more. YOU must report those earnings in the week you worked, not week you are paid. What's deducted from UE benefits is the gross pay, not net of taxes. So if you're a good (sensible) boy or girl and pay the feral and state taxes in advance you are screwed, blued. and tattooed (to coin a phrase). Not to mention the fact that more is deducted from you UE benefits than that which you actually received.

This rant was brought to you by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. What's secure about this? How does this help the un-EMPLOYED? To my way of thinking, it doesn't. But we elect the boobs that cause this. What are you doing to do about it?