Why Aren’t Europe and Canada in the Same Boat as U.S. for Unemployment?
Has America reneged on a promise to its citizens?
While the unemployment rate skyrocketed in the U.S., most of Europe’s and Canada’s has been more muted. This is because those countries paid companies directly to maintain their employees. For instance, in the UK employees simply sign up for “Universal Credit”, Britain’s answer to unemployment benefits.
Other European countries and Canada have similar programs that pay the affected workers 80% of their salary until normal business resumes. That’s about the same amount long term disability insurance would pay for a couple of years (depending on the policy). Long term disability insurance costs about 1–3% of one’s salary. So if you make $100,000 a year it can cost as little as $83 a month.
Now look at what you pay in taxes in the United States. Standard deduction is $12,200. $100,000 minus $12,200 is $87,800. Times the tax rate of 24% is $21,072 in taxes. A long term disability plan for 2 years would have cost the government 1/2 of one percent of your taxes.
You would think paying all that money year after year to a government whose purpose is to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the…
