These 11 GOP governors are cutting aid for unemployed people in their states

Eleven Republican governors now say they will cut off a $300-a-week emergency federal subsidy for unemployed people in their states. Their decision could hurt hundreds of thousands of constituents and their families.

According to CNN, five more GOP governors announced on Tuesday that they will prematurely cancel the pandemic unemployment benefits that Congress made available through September — joining six who have already done so.

“It’s time that we end these programs that have ultimately incentivized people to stay out of the workforce,” Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons explained in a Tuesday tweet.

This is part of a national GOP push to punish the unemployed for worst-than-expected April jobs numbers.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the economy added 266,000 jobs in April — a sharp drop from the 770,000 jobs added the previous month — and the unemployment rate was 6.1%.

Without evidence, Republican lawmakers blamed this on workers choosing to stay home “sitting on the front porch drinking coffee” and watching Netflix rather than going back into the workforce because the unemployment benefits were so lucrative.

They pointed to the $300-a-week emergency subsidy that was part of the American Rescue Plan, the pandemic relief package signed by President Joe Biden after being pushed through Congress by Democrats, without garnering a single GOP vote.

This, they argued — combined with the regular unemployment insurance — meant unemployment benefits provide more money than the sub-living-wage jobs many employers were offering. Experts say the bigger factors are lack of available child care and concerns about safety given the ongoing community spread of the coronavirus.

By cutting off the benefits, the governors are taking away about $1,200 a month from some of their most vulnerable constituents during a time of pandemic and related economic challenges.

They are:

Kay Ivey of Alabama

Alabama’s unemployment rate was 3.8% in March, with 84,670 people unemployed.

Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas

The unemployment rate in Arkansas was 4.4% in March, with 60,199 people unemployed.

Brad Little of Idaho

Idaho’s March unemployment rate was 3.2%, with 28,815 people unemployed.

Kim Reynolds of Iowa

Iowa’s unemployment rate was 3.7% in March, with 60,875 people unemployed.

Tate Reeves of Mississippi

The unemployment rate in Mississippi was 6.3% in March, with 80,270 people unemployed. This was above the national average. Still, Reeves wrote Monday that the federal funds “may have been necessary in May of last year but are no longer so in May of this year.”

Mike Parson of Missouri

Missouri’s unemployment rate was 4.2% in March, with 128,920 people unemployed.

Greg Gianforte of Montana

Montana’s March unemployment rate was 3.8%, with 19,978 people unemployed.

Doug Burgum of North Dakota

North Dakota’s unemployment rate was 4.4% in March, with 17,725 people unemployed.

Henry McMaster of South Carolina

The unemployment rate for South Carolina was 5.1% in March, with 120,783 people unemployed.

Bill Lee of Tennessee

Tennessee’s unemployment rate was 5% in March, with 166,704 people unemployed.

Mark Gordon of Wyoming

Wyoming’s March unemployment rate was 5.3%, with 15,747 people unemployed.

In total, 784,686 people were unemployed in those states. If each of them loses out on $300 a week, that means governors will be costing their citizens more than $235 million combined, weekly.

According to CNN, other GOP-run states are also expected to cut off the benefits for their unemployed.

During the debate over the American Rescue Plan, several GOP lawmakers falsely argued that it was nothing more than a “blue state bailout.”

Now, thanks to GOP governors, many cash-strapped families in red states will have to get by with $1,200 a month less than their blue-state counterparts.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.