NC Governor signs law cutting unemployment insurance

[mnhtnbb]

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) today signed a law that imposes severe cuts to his state’s unemployment insurance program, a change that will also cost jobless workers in the state access to the federal unemployment compensation program.

McCrory’s signature earned him a rebuke from the National Employment Law Project, which said in a release that the law will result in “the most severe cuts to both state and federal unemployment insurance of any state in the nation”:

These heartless cuts, in the state with the fifth-highest jobless rate in the nation, at 9.2 percent, show a shocking disregard for 400,000 unemployed North Carolinians and their families, many of whom will now go from struggling to barely make ends meet to outright struggling to survive. The immediate pain of these cuts will fall on North Carolinians unfortunate enough to lose work through no fault of their own in a weak economy where jobs are scarce. But the entire state will take a hit from the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in spending at local businesses that would’ve boosted the local and state economies.

The law reduces the maximum benefit allowed from $535 a week to $350 while cutting the number of weeks an unemployed worker is eligible for the program from 26 to 20. As a result, 170,000 jobless North Carolinians will also lose access to $780 million in federal unemployment funds. The average unemployed worker in the United States has been off the job for 35 weeks, meaning many jobless workers will now face the prospect of searching for a new job without access to a safety net program.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/02/19/1610571/north-carolina-unemployment-cuts/


This is from a Governor, who, first thing he did, was RAISE the salaries for his cabinet. Why? Because he claimed
they couldn't live on $121,807./year.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/01/10/2598132/gov-pat-mccrory-gives-his-cabinet.html

It is going to be a VERY long four years here in NC.

[Third Doctor]

1. I hate to say this

but a lot of people in these red states (like my own) vote for these bastards and when they screw them they want to blame everyone but themselves. I hope the unemployed in that state make it through somehow. I'm stuck with damned Robert Bentley here.

[mnhtnbb]

2. Republicans took over the State Legislature here in 2010.

First Republican controlled state house in NC in 100 years.
Then the Dem governor--first term--announced very late in the game she wasn't going
to run for re-election. Best the Dems could come up with was her Lt. Governor--
who had really no name recognition--to run for Governor. McCrory was very
well funded by right wingers--including Art Pope who has been named his Budget
Director--so we now have a cabal of right wingers running the state. NC
has really turned hard right...and I won't be a bit surprised to see that change
in the next election. But...some people are so naive. They have to learn the
hard way that Republicans can't be trusted.

http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/gov-elect-pat-mccrory-has-someone-to-answer-to-art-pope/Content?oid=3223322

[Hissyspit]

9. Repubs and Art Pope have been gerrymandering.

[NewJeffCT]

14. they don't know enough to blame the governor

and legislature - they'll think it's those lazy blacks & illegal immigrants who caused the state economy to go into the tank.

[rachel1]

3. And when will the progressives in NC petition to have him recalled?

[mnhtnbb]

11. I was just talking to hubby about this at dinner.

[mnhtnbb]

13. Just researched recall and discovered NC is one of 12 states that do NOT allow recall

No recall (12)

Delaware
Hawaii
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Maryland
Mississippi
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Utah
Vermont

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Laws_governing_recall

[dsc]

12. If you think he is bad you should see his LT Governor

they aren't elected on a ticket but he is a very, very, conservative Republican. He thinks there should be no minimum wage for example. Here is a link to his issue page.

http://www.danforest.com/content/page/on_the_issues

[GoCubsGo]

4. Assholes.

North Carolina is starting to make South Carolina look good. Sickening.

[Angry Dragon]

5. GREED ...............

[LonePirate]

6. I suspect these cuts were made to give employers a tax break while still meeting federal minimum ...

requirements for an unemployment insurance system.

I suspect ALEC, the Koch brothers and other right wingers will push to implement similar changes in other states controlled exclusively by Republicans.

[kairos12]

7. Typical race for the bottom by a Rethug

[Tarheel_Dem]

8. I can only hope that the bastards who voted for him feel the crunch harder than the rest of us.

Karma's a bitch.

[2Design]

10. very mean cruel party of NO