While the White House is still debating how to deal with the disappointing April jobs report and downplaying its implications for President Joe Biden’s expensive and expansive agenda, an increasing number of red states are taking matters into their own hands. Amid reports of a growing number of “Help Wanted” signs and would-be workers opting to keep receiving unemployment assistance rather than returning to work, 18 Republican-led states have ended or are moving to halt enhanced unemployment benefits.
For those wondering how these Republican-led initiatives are likely to play out, including those shrieking that this is “ill-informed and cruel,” there’s a recent example that should shed some light. Cue North Carolina 2013, my first year as governor. I inherited an unemployment rate of approximately 9.5%, the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the entire nation. To make matters worse, North Carolina had $2.5 billion from the federal government to pay our state’s generous unemployment benefits since levies on employers had come up short.
