Unemployment payments are intended to provide temporary financial relief, whereby eligible recipients are able to sustain until their situation improves. It is important to note that each state has a separate unemployment insurance program that must be within guidelines established by the federal law.
Typically, a person is eligible if they have worked during a certain time frame known as a base, which is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters prior to the time that he or she files a claim (U.S. Dept of Labor 2004). Essentially, a person must have worked at least a year before eligible for benefits. Once eligibility is determined, here she may file a claim with the state unemployment agency as soon as becoming unemployed. Filing may be done either by Internet or by phone depending on state requirements. A response typically is received to 3 weeks after claim has been filed. Once approved, the recipient receives the certain percentage dollar amount based on reported earnings over a recent 52-week period. Benefits are usually paid for maximum of 26 weeks in most states (U.S. Dept of Labor 2004). With the Obama administration, unemployment benefits may be extended for additional 20 weeks provided the individual meets certain criteria. Regardless of the amount received, all benefits are subject to federal income tax and therefore must be noted on ones federal income tax return.
An individual receiving benefits must be actively looking for employment. Many are required to register with state employment services in finding employment. If for some reason they are not required to register, they must find employment on their own and show diligent effort extended in finding employment, such as so many resumes being submitted, a set number of applications...
Therefore, the program is designed to help those to help themselves, not a freeloading time for opportunists. Has the program been successful? Sure, many people truly need the assistance to help sustain themselves or their families. If one cannot satisfy his or her basic physiological needs, such as food and shelter, here she will not be productive in seeking ways to improve his or her conditions. Such premise aligns with Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
3) Assume the economy is entering a severe inflationary stage. What monetary policies would you choose to help stabilize the economy? Explain how these policies are expected to work.
To determine the appropriate monetary policy, one must understand the definition of inflation. Surprisingly, inflation has nothing to do with price; instead, it involves economic forces that cause general and sustaining increases in price levels. Therefore, price increases measures inflationary forces in which such price increases are a result of disruptions and supply, political turmoil, or even war (Blatt 2004). Consequently, such conditions affect the money supply in the economy. It is important to note that although price increases are a direct byproduct of inflationary forces, it sometimes can take decades before such forces are manifested in price increases.
Monetary inflation is really an artificial expansion of money supply in the simplest terms. Demand for money must increase before the supply for money is increased. However, price inflation is a reaction to monetary inflation. Essentially, it reduces the purchasing power of circulated currency, which counteracts the artificial expansion of money supply (Blatt 2004). How is that possible? Think about it for a
