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Improvements in unemployment insurance are a bright spot in the lame duck cloud

Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency | Susan J. Demas

The year 2024 did not end with the bang that many in Lansing hoped for.

Instead, each bang was more like a car engine backfiring: noisy and potentially harmful. The drama and pageantry of Michigan’s legislative session dominated our news feeds and left many advocates disappointed in the process. Many reading their news feeds would understandably get the impression that the government is ineffective and perhaps even powerless to help improve their circumstances.

However, beneath the chaos lies a more complex story: one that tells us that despite all the setbacks and turmoil, progress can be made.

Michigan’s unemployment system has been among the worst in the Midwest for years. We have the lowest number of benefits and fewer weeks offered, and we invest less in our unemployment insurance than our neighbors. Michigan has not adjusted the maximum weekly benefit since 2002, leaving it at just $362 per week.

But in the legislative chaos, this all changed. A package was put together that aims to increase the maximum weekly benefits to $614 over the next three years and increase the maximum number of weeks an unemployed person can claim benefits from 20 weeks to 26 weeks. The bills, some of the few bright spots to emerge from the lame-duck session, will bring Michigan’s benefit duration in line with the 39 other states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico that provide 26 weeks or more of unemployment benefits .

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While the unemployment system has often received some negative attention, it is critical to Michigan workers – especially those who work in construction and manufacturing and often face layoffs during economic downturns.

Growing up, my family worked primarily in construction and HVAC. When the economy slowed and people stopped building, layoffs were almost guaranteed. Economies take time to recover and these jobs will not return immediately. I watched family members exhaust unemployment benefits and be forced to take jobs that paid less than the last.

The additional weeks of unemployment benefits provided by Senate Bill 40 will give Michiganders more time to find work after losing a job through no fault of their own, so they may not have to take a pay cut and can find a job that is better. takes care of their families. The increase in benefits will further help families pay the bills without having to dip into their pensions and other savings.

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It is difficult to overstate the impact the changes to unemployment benefits will have on Michigan workers. However, it wasn’t just the unemployment insurance system that made meaningful progress during Lame Duck.

Senate bills 205–207 and House Bills 4062–4063the latter of which passed out of the House but is currently still awaiting Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s signature, represents a potentially huge win for renters in Michigan.

These bills provide a source of income protection for Michigan renters who wish to pay their rent through non-wage sources. This means that landlords with five or more units cannot turn away tenants who want to pay rent through Housing Choice Vouchers, veterans’ or Social Security benefits. These protections would make safe housing more accessible to low-income families, veterans and retirees. This is crucial now more than ever given the rapidly rising costs of rent.

In an age when push notifications give us headlines of absent lawmakers, social media gives us bite-sized snippets of government at its worst, and algorithms keep us scrolling through doomsday scenarios, it’s important to look at what’s happening around the chaos and find the silver lining to see. When we do that, we see people; whether they are legislators, advocates, or simply those closest to you, who work every day to advance the common good and improve the lives of those around them.

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There will always be those who are selfish and those looking for sound bites to feed the algorithm, but as we return from the holidays to a divided legislature, it’s important to take a deeper look.

Look beyond the drama and distractions and see what meaningful change is possible. If legislation like the unemployment insurance package and source of income protection can be passed in the chaos that was lame duck, perhaps more positive changes are possible in 2025.

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