There may be situations where someone takes in a little more than they would have by working...but this is short term, eventually they will go back to work

hand outs are nice, but eventually you run out of other people's money

Do you really need the $1200 stimulus check that you'll be getting? Doubtful if you live in TV

Mine is going to a food bank that will be helping the very same people that you think may be getting just a little more $$$$ on unemployment than if they were working

they were just getting by anyway...just like the folks that pick potatoes in your home state of Maine for low wages, or trap lobsters

you are right on - we need to stop the directive of don't give anybody anything - let's all help those who need it most.

Base unemployment insurance is paid for by employers to state

more $ in unemployment than by working
 

Yes, a worker in TV told me he was asked to come back to work and said no thanks. Why? Because he made more on unemployment than on the job. So of course anyone in this situation would take advantage of a 39 week vacation. Why not?

Well, they are not going to give it back to us. They are going to spend it somehow. I can think of a lot worse ways they could spend it, and they no doubt will.

Florida the max UI is 13 weeks, no extensions. If you're still unemployed after a year you can file a new claim. I know this because I was on FL UI last summer.

I am an old great grandfather who still cannot grasp that there are those who grew up in the same era as I, who are relatively secure living in a place like TV, who would ‘begrudge’ those caught up in an unprecedented pandemic worsened by initial inaction and lack of preparation a little support for the common good. For that matter, do they even remember the concept of ‘the common good’?

Kudos to posters like those quoted here as well as many others who may have very differing views on other matters but who nonetheless have not closed their minds and hearts to human compassion and understanding. This is not the same as running up the national debt for unnecessary wars (a strange phrase) or huge corporate bailouts; this is for folks to be able to help put food on their tables and keep a roof overhead during the pandemic—in some cases the very individuals that might otherwise serve you in a local restaurant, work on your landscaping, or clean the medical offices where you get your care (through Medicare?).... Given what we are dealing with, the immediate issue is not economics; it’s humanity.

If you heard it from a politician it must be true

Of course there will always be outliers, but you don't want to be throwing out the baby with the bathwater and deny all those in need because of those few cases.

No-one wants to be out of work, and we all want to return to a normal life as quickly as possible. Putting money into the hands of those who need it and are much more likely to spend it is the best use of the stimulus. Anyone who gets more from unemployment than they would get from working is obviously in a low paying job - they are far more likely to spend. Let them enjoy that (very) little benefit.

We have to look at the bigger picture IMO. This is a stimulus package, and the more people spend the more taxes will be paid and the government will re-coup.

If you refuse to go back to work, you lose your unemployment. Employers must verify a person is still unemployed and not offered a job back.

You can receive anywhere between 12 and 23 weeks of unemployment benefits, depending on the rate of unemployment in the state (that's how it works in Florida, not true for much of the rest of the country). I thought it was the full 26 weeks offered in other states.

But it definitely isn't a set max of 13 weeks.

Then add the new extension just provided by the Fed, and it's going to be 26+ weeks.

The worker in TV was not very bright. Either that, or you're making this up.

He will lose his unemployment benefits, AND he risks fines and penalties and repayment requirements if he is caught refusing to return to work.

So you lost your job because you tested positive for the virus?

While I don't call myself Christian because I am not (there are other religions out there) I agree with your comment 100%

I agree but the purpose of all this spending is not so much to help particular people but to provide liquidity to the economy and maintain social order.