It’s just my opinion but… the solution to illegal immigration does not come in the form of a Federal ID card.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade, you know that illegal immigration is a growing problem in the United States. Now, Congress wants every working American to carry a national biometric id card in order to stop illegal immigration. The thought is that if they cannot work in the United States they will not come.
For those of you who are unaware, the plan is to have every working American carry a biometric id card that would be similar to your driver’s license but would contain information on it such as your fingerprints. This way, employers can scan this card along with your fingerprints and within seconds determine if you are who you say you are.
With this piece of legislation, all legal workers would have to carry the card and those who are illegal would not be able to obtain one. In other words, punish the innocent to pinpoint the guilty!
Now, I am all for stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States but this should be a last resort not the first response. If the U.S. Government would stop them from entering the country then we would not have to worry about them getting jobs.
My first thought on how to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the U.S. would be to militarize the border; however, I do understand the perception that would give the rest of the world and the U.S does not want to be seen that way. Point taken!
My next thought would be to actually deport these people as they are discovered in the U.S. instead of extending constitutional protections to them. The way I see it is, if you are not a citizen, resident alien or here on some sort of visa you have no rights in this country!
For all of my Florida residents, you may be asking yourself why should we be throwing these immigrants out but allowing Cubans to enter the country due to the “Wet foot, Dry Foot” law?
For those of you who don’t know, this law extends citizenship rights to Cuban refugees who make it to the Florida coast. If they make it they can stay, if they don’t, they are sent back. The key word here is Refugee. Webster’s Dictionary defines refugee as a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution. Which is what the people of Cuba face; Mexico, not so much!
Stop them from coming in or kick them out when you find them. It is just that simple. Why should an American born citizen be required to apply for and maintain an additional form of ID, that I feel, violates my rights as a citizen? Its time to put up or shut up regarding immigration and institute a plan that works while staying out of my personal life and my wallet! Punish the guilty not the innocent!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Unemployment Starts with U!
It is just my opinion but..the growing unemployment issue in the country is a direct reflection of it citizens.
On March 2 2010, the Florida Legislature convened for the Spring 2010 session; the first topic up for discussion was the unemployment tax increase. On January 1st 2010 the State of Florida; like many other states, raised employers State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) to offset the huge costs associated with administering unemployment. Now the Legislature has revoked that increase due to the strain on employers. This bill will lower the unemployment tax and prevent dramatic increase for the next two years while also allowing unemployed workers to collect for an additional 8 weeks. While the effect on employers is significant, this move will only add to our current state deficit while allowing Unemployed workers to collect more money over a longer period of time. Unfortunately this is not the solution but rather a temporary fix to a growing problem.
By my above comment, most readers would assume I am referring to the economic situation in our state however, that could not be further from the truth. I am, however, speaking about the level of personal responsibility standard to which we should all be held. Is it just me or does everyone who is not working collect unemployment? If you are truly unemployed and actively seeking employment while collecting benefits this article does not apply to you. However, if you are collecting benefits because you believe you are entitled to it and are in no hurry to find another job, listen up!
According to the State of Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation “Unemployment insurance provides temporary wage replacement benefits to qualified individuals who are out of work through no fault of their own,” however, it allows for “qualified individuals” to collect unemployment benefits for up to 54 weeks. Since when is 54 weeks temporary?
In order to collect benefits an unemployed worker must file a claim with the state who then determines eligibility by making the employer prove that the employee is not qualified for benefits. This system is completely backwards to all other government benefit programs. Of all the other government benefit programs I can think of, unemployment is the only one where the individual does not have to prove eligibility in order to collect.
As a Human Resources Professional, I have seen many employees collect unemployment benefits based on a technicality at the employer’s expense. Under the current system, the employee is entitled to benefits unless the former employer can prove otherwise. In other words, the employer is found guilty until proven innocent for letting an employee go. I have even had employees call me and ask me to fire them so they can collect unemployment. Why do we allow this to happen? If an employee quits or abandons their job, they should not be allowed to collect unless it was for good cause such as harassment.
Once an employee is granted benefits the employee’s only responsibility is to “claim” he/she is actively seeking employment. With as overworked as our current unemployment department is, who is checking? This is when personal responsibility comes in. Since when is it alright to let others pay for you to sit a home while they get up everyday and go to work?
Now, I am in no way an idealist who thinks that with a proper system the abuse of benefits will cease. I completely accept the fact that there will always be individuals who abuse the system but, should we accept it when it is blatantly staring us in the face?
Some of you may be thinking that I am just blowing smoke and have not thought it through; I beg to differ.
I personally believe that in order to collect unemployment benefits an employee should meet several requirements. In order to become eligible an unemployed worker should have to prove, with verification by their former employer, that they are entitled to benefits. Once benefits eligibility is established the employee should be required to meet with a career counselor on a regular basis to ensure the employee is actively seeking employment. The career counselor would help with the writing of resumes, setting up interviews and assisting in the completion of applications. If the employee misses an appointment or interview for any reason other than a real emergency, all benefits should stop and the employee would then have to reapply. If they are unemployed they should have no reason not to go to the appointments. In addition, the individual should be required to complete some sort of volunteer work for a minimum number of hours per week. They could volunteer with local government agencies to fill in the gaps that our economic situation has created such as librarian, waste collector or road cleanup. If they are getting paid for something, they should have to earn it.
We, as Americans, no longer hold individuals to a standard of personal responsibility but instead coddle them in an effort to make things easy and trouble free, but at what price? The United States has been around for over 200 years but never had a national deficit until sometime in the mid to late 20th century. What was the country doing then that we are not doing now? Holding individuals responsible for their actions, That’s what!
On March 2 2010, the Florida Legislature convened for the Spring 2010 session; the first topic up for discussion was the unemployment tax increase. On January 1st 2010 the State of Florida; like many other states, raised employers State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) to offset the huge costs associated with administering unemployment. Now the Legislature has revoked that increase due to the strain on employers. This bill will lower the unemployment tax and prevent dramatic increase for the next two years while also allowing unemployed workers to collect for an additional 8 weeks. While the effect on employers is significant, this move will only add to our current state deficit while allowing Unemployed workers to collect more money over a longer period of time. Unfortunately this is not the solution but rather a temporary fix to a growing problem.
By my above comment, most readers would assume I am referring to the economic situation in our state however, that could not be further from the truth. I am, however, speaking about the level of personal responsibility standard to which we should all be held. Is it just me or does everyone who is not working collect unemployment? If you are truly unemployed and actively seeking employment while collecting benefits this article does not apply to you. However, if you are collecting benefits because you believe you are entitled to it and are in no hurry to find another job, listen up!
According to the State of Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation “Unemployment insurance provides temporary wage replacement benefits to qualified individuals who are out of work through no fault of their own,” however, it allows for “qualified individuals” to collect unemployment benefits for up to 54 weeks. Since when is 54 weeks temporary?
In order to collect benefits an unemployed worker must file a claim with the state who then determines eligibility by making the employer prove that the employee is not qualified for benefits. This system is completely backwards to all other government benefit programs. Of all the other government benefit programs I can think of, unemployment is the only one where the individual does not have to prove eligibility in order to collect.
As a Human Resources Professional, I have seen many employees collect unemployment benefits based on a technicality at the employer’s expense. Under the current system, the employee is entitled to benefits unless the former employer can prove otherwise. In other words, the employer is found guilty until proven innocent for letting an employee go. I have even had employees call me and ask me to fire them so they can collect unemployment. Why do we allow this to happen? If an employee quits or abandons their job, they should not be allowed to collect unless it was for good cause such as harassment.
Once an employee is granted benefits the employee’s only responsibility is to “claim” he/she is actively seeking employment. With as overworked as our current unemployment department is, who is checking? This is when personal responsibility comes in. Since when is it alright to let others pay for you to sit a home while they get up everyday and go to work?
Now, I am in no way an idealist who thinks that with a proper system the abuse of benefits will cease. I completely accept the fact that there will always be individuals who abuse the system but, should we accept it when it is blatantly staring us in the face?
Some of you may be thinking that I am just blowing smoke and have not thought it through; I beg to differ.
I personally believe that in order to collect unemployment benefits an employee should meet several requirements. In order to become eligible an unemployed worker should have to prove, with verification by their former employer, that they are entitled to benefits. Once benefits eligibility is established the employee should be required to meet with a career counselor on a regular basis to ensure the employee is actively seeking employment. The career counselor would help with the writing of resumes, setting up interviews and assisting in the completion of applications. If the employee misses an appointment or interview for any reason other than a real emergency, all benefits should stop and the employee would then have to reapply. If they are unemployed they should have no reason not to go to the appointments. In addition, the individual should be required to complete some sort of volunteer work for a minimum number of hours per week. They could volunteer with local government agencies to fill in the gaps that our economic situation has created such as librarian, waste collector or road cleanup. If they are getting paid for something, they should have to earn it.
We, as Americans, no longer hold individuals to a standard of personal responsibility but instead coddle them in an effort to make things easy and trouble free, but at what price? The United States has been around for over 200 years but never had a national deficit until sometime in the mid to late 20th century. What was the country doing then that we are not doing now? Holding individuals responsible for their actions, That’s what!
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