Maybe lawmakers should be drug tested

A few questions and answers about the economy...

Q. I keep reading that some state legislatures are turning down federal stimulus money for unemployment compensation. Florida's lawmakers just turned down $444 million, a few weeks after the Virginia General Assembly refused $125 million. Louisiana and other states, mostly in the South, are apparently considering the same. What's going on?

 A. Lawmakers, predominantly visionary Republicans, say the money comes with too many strings. For instance, the states would have to start covering part-time workers who lose their jobs and extend the length of time that people in job retraining programs can draw unemployment.

Q. What's so awful about that?

A. As the majority leader in Florida's House of Representatives says, it's "an unfunded mandate from the Obama administration."

Q. Um, hello? $444 million? $125 million? Isn't that "funding"?

A. Technically, yes. And it's not actually a mandate, per se. It's a temporary program, lasting two years. But we all know it's hard to end something like this once it starts.

Q. Hard? Can't the legislatures just cut off the funding once the feds drop out of the picture?

A. Yes, but that would be politically difficult. Politicians are allergic to difficulty - at least the sort that puts their own jobs at risk.

Q. So, suppose the programs are still needed after two years and the states have to pick up the tab. What would it cost?

A. Oh, it would be onerous. Apocalyptic, I dare say. In Virginia, for instance, employers would have to pay an average of almost $5 more a year per employee.

Q. You're kidding me, right? Five bucks? That's it?

A. Some folks - socialist types, mostly - claim it isn't much. But you have to remember that Virginia is scheduled to increase its unemployment tax rates next year.

Q. But didn't I read that Virginia's unemployment insurance rate currently averages about $98 a year per employee?

A. Correct. It's near the rock bottom of all the states, almost $200 below the national average. It'll remain below the national average even after next year's increase. Virginia's lawmakers can proudly say they remain at the forefront of the back end, so to speak.

Q. Uh-huh. And what's this I hear about states considering requiring the unemployed to undergo random drug testing?

A. At least eight states have been pondering drug tests for recipients of food stamps, welfare, unemployment or some combination of the three. But the most visionary bill is probably from Florida.

Q. Why's that?

A. A Republican state senator has proposed that one of every 10 people filing for unemployment should have to whiz in a cup before qualifying to collect checks to put food on their tables and pay their bills.

Q. But we're in the worst recession in decades! Is it really a wise time to force people who've been laid off, through no fault of their own, to prove they're not drug addicts?

A. Wise is such a relative term. Remember, many states - like Florida - are running low on unemployment funds. That's why the bill's sponsor proposed that jobless folks pay the $30 cost of the mandatory drug tests. That way, it's not an unfunded mandate.

Q. You're making this up, right? Are these lawmakers smoking crack?

A. Oh, no. As counterintuitive as their plans sound, these legislators are really the only ones who are facing up to the fact that we have a serious unemployment problem.

Q. C'mon. Who doesn't know that?

A. I don't mean the jobless rate. I'm referring to the unemployed themselves. They're always caterwauling for unemployment checks, job training and - well - jobs. It's time we take a stand.

Q. Let me get this straight: You're saying the best way to reduce unemployment is to give the jobless as little help as possible?

A. Exactly. If we reduce the incentives, losing your job becomes far less appealing. It's the natural evolution of trickle-down economics, if you think about it. And, this time, we supply cups!

Daryl Lease is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot.

E-mail him at daryl.lease@pilotonline.com.