Whitmer to use UE benefits to incentivize work

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/14/michigan-use-federal-300-unemployment-bonus-back-work-incentive/7685662002/

Instead of just cutting people off for a minimal effect on the worker shortage, she's using the federal money to help workers and employers alike, just very smart and well done.

People are finding out the hard way that displaced workers aren't just waiting around for their former employer to call, they've moved on, some have left the work force, others moved to other regions. The companies that did everything possible to not lay people off last year now have a competitive advantage over the ones that laid people off thinking they would be easy to call back when business picked up.

The worker shortage is real and it's not going away anytime soon. And this is a good thing for workers, this is creating serious upward pressure on wages. We may not get a $15 minimum wage right away, but the pressure is strong enough that companies paying less than that just aren't going to be able to find workers.