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+1

Even with a cut of $50 the people of NJ would surpass what NY workers get, even with the govt. bonus.

We get 50% or capped at $405+$25 for the Fed.

So with the $50 cut someone in NJ would be making $104 more a week, count that over the time of unemployment (or the time people refuse to get work so they can slide into retirement) and they'll bank a lot of tax payer money after their initial 6 months runs out.

I'll guess the better system would be to cut $50 or hell even $100 out of the checks after the 6 month period, people need incentive to make sure they get up off their ass and look for work even if things look tough, because once you are 12-18 months out of a job most places of business will overlook you very quickly.

Ahh - I confused state severance with unemployment - to entirely different things. I still think the two should be structured the same way.

In terms of unemployment - yes, NJ does pay more.

I still hold to my original opinion: If they can abuse the system... why cant the system abuse them?

I would have NO PROBLEM with the state taking more money from my paycheck (higher taxes) so that someone who is unemployment can keep their safety net. $50 is a lot when one isn't working. ad $50 affects the people only getting the minimum level of benefits a lot more than the ones getting the highest level of benefits.

I'm pretty sure NJ unemployment gives you more than NY. Not sure why.

radryan, the way it works is unemployment caps off at $584 per week. People who once made $100K get the same unemployment benefits as someone who made $40K. From what I have seen, my friends who were making close to six figures couldn't live off the $584 per week and aggressively searched for jobs. Meanwhile, a friend of mine who made almost the same amount that unemployment pays her per week when she was working has not searched for a job now for a year. She completely stops her search every time they announce an unemployment extension. And she is not the only person I know of who has been doing that.

I think they should do a tiered system. If someone is getting the same amount of money they earned when they had a job, what is going to motivate them to go back to work?

The job market is not going to improve until companies start rehiring. Neither will the housing market. Instead of paying out record bonuses, Goldman and other banks should have used some of that money to replace the thousands of jobs that were lost when the economy tanked.

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Maybe he should reconsider raising taxes.

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I hope you get laid off.

What are we upset about? State workers never get fired.

Actually they appear at work most of the year.... amassing 4 billion days of unused vacation and sick leave. Then they take giant payouts at retirement.

If they can abuse the system... why cant the system abuse them?

I have to admit - I don't know how the current system works, but it should be tiered as a portion of pay at dismissal and approx 2 weeks of severance for every year served with a 6 or 9 month cap.

susiederkins is right - severance is an entitlement. Your place of work owes you nothing when you are dismissed - we work "at-will." They are lucky to get severance at all. If they don't like it, take out an insurance policy on your debts.

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Sure. I also need all the money I can get. But, right now, this state is facing a fiscal crisis and state government either needs to (1) reduce expenditures or (2) increase revenue. Since Christie isn't going to raise taxes and increase revenue, he needs to reduce expenditures. One way to do this is to cut entitlements.

Think about it this way---would you be willing to let the state take more of your paycheck and transfer it directly to someone who isn't working? I sure wouldn't and, accordingly, am perfectly happy to see benefits cut.

Is he crazy? People on unemployment tend to need all the money they can get. Fortunately, a state senator said thsi will not fly.

I think the state should institute a tiered so system so that individuals can choose to pay a higher premium to collect unemployment insurance for an extended period until they can find a job