Editorial Board: Gov. Evers Should Veto Legislation Brought to him by Senate Republicans

On June 9^, Republican lawmakers passed legislation that would eliminate the extra $300 a week that unemployed people in Wisconsin have received for those who lost work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Gov. Tony Evers, however, has vetoed the legislation. The editorial board agrees with Evers’ decision to veto the bill because we believe the extra $300 should continue but with proof of actively looking for work. We do, however, believe that the extra money should only continue until September, when it is due to end.

As Wisconsin has begun to “open up”, people are returning to work and businesses have been struggling mightily to fill positions. The pandemic laid off many workers in the service industry, but bars and restaurants have not seen many of those people come back. We believe this has shown a glaring problem: people can make more money on unemployment than they can being employed. That should never happen. Minimum wage for servers is $2.33 per hour. It is assumed that because they make tips their minimum wage is less than the $7.25 per hour that nonservice jobs require. Raising the minimum wage would certainly be a great start, but there would be downfalls, such as a higher price for goods and services as well as inflation. State lawmakers have made that same point every time the idea of raising the minimum wage has been brought up.

The board believes that we must act to acquire better and clearer date when it comes to whether people are not seeking jobs because of the extra $300 dollars that are still on offer. It is hard to assume why or why not someone is still on unemployment benefits, certainly when it comes to the individual. One way the board believes we can encourage people to go back to work is ensuring that education and training be more of a focus. If more people are educated, then they can get higher paying jobs. Jobs that pay more than unemployment does. Gov. Evers also argued that Republicans could help draw more workers to the state if they invested in education, transit, health care and other priorities Evers has highlighted according to Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Department of Workforce Development had waived the work search requirement needed to apply for unemployment due to the pandemic. Now with more and more people becoming vaccinated and things “opening up” again, the bill that passed on June 9^, would prohibit the department from waiving the work search requirement. The board believes that this is a good idea as now that jobs are readily available, people should be actively searching for them if they are to apply for unemployment.

All in all, the board believes that Evers should veto the current bill but should not do anything to extend the extra $300 after it is set to run out in September.