The unemployment system is flawed and unfair. What are the problems? What are my personal experiences? How can the good system improve unemployment benefits?
In this article, I about how our good system provides all the basic needs for the people without the need to work.
My personal experience
At the time writing this text, I am officially unemployed. I say officially because I do work, like writing this text, but I don’t get paid. Like an artist or a woman.
It’s not the first time, that I am unemployed, but it is the first time I noticed how flawed and unfair the system is.
Here in Austria, the unemployment benefits are under the OECD average. At least at the beginning. After one year it is above the average.
That means you get punished, if you are unemployed for a short time. Which is counterproductive because the system wants you to work as soon as possible. Well, most of us.
A low unemployment rate is not good for companies. Because it means that the leverage is on the employees side. You can negotiate higher wages because there are fewer people willing to work in the market.
That’s not what the companies want. So they wait to hire people until the unemployment rate is higher and the leverage is on their side. Meanwhile, when they are understaffed, they blame it on the unemployed who don’t want to work for their shitty conditions.
Luckily, big companies can help. They fire a bunch of people and now offer and demand are in the right balance again. For the employers, of course.
Free market, baby!
Back to my experience. If you quit your job, you get even more punished. When you do this, you don’t get any benefits for four weeks. As it happened to me.
People with low income are forced to stay in a toxic job because they can’t afford four weeks without payment. That’s good for the companies because they don’t need to treat their employees well, they only have to threaten them with unemployment.
That’s bad for the people for whom this system exists.
Global problems
It’s a privilege to complain about insufficient unemployment benefits, after all, there are still countries where this doesn’t exist at all.
It is a good thing to have and I appreciate it. But it is often not good enough and it is getting worse. The problem lies within the system.
The unemployment benefits can’t be too high because otherwise the extrinsic motivation of the people would be low and employers would need to offer decent working conditions and no bull shit jobs.
Most jobs with low income are typically those with the worst working conditions, although they are often relevant for the system. No one needs a broker, but without a farm laborer, you don’t have any food on your table.
This whole topic is very complex. In our example with the farm laborers, if you raise their income and improve their working conditions, food gets pricier. The food industry would pass on the higher costs to customers and take advantage of the opportunity to become a few additional percent pricier. They never give up a cent because that would mean less profit and make the investors, who don’t lift a finger, unhappy.
Or companies would relocate production abroad, where there are no worker rights or unemployment benefits.
That’s also the problem with a basic income. In the current system, if only one country would implement it, companies would relocate or only hire people who don’t get a basic income and are desperately in need of a job because prices would rise.
It is difficult to find the right amount of unemployment benefits to balance the extrinsic motivation to work and the danger of poverty.
Another big issue is that social security is often linked to work. In Austria, you are still insured as an unemployed, if you are registered at the employment office. If you are married, you can be insured through your partner. For the system we currently have, it is good.
If you work, it depends on your job, which insurance you have. For example, if you work for the Austrian Federal Railways, you have a superb insurance. If you are self-employed, it is much worse.
The far-right coalition unified it, but as you guessed, not for the benefit of the people. And there are still different insurances.
The solution
How would we solve the situation with the unemployment benefits in our good system.
First we have to set the goal we want to achieve.
Nobody should be forced to work. All the basic needs should be provided for every one.
You have a basic room to live in, get enough nutrition and some clothes, etc. If you want more, you would need to provide something for society by getting a job or work for the system. But you don’t have to, if the basic is good enough for you.
Since our system is global, companies can’t exploit people in other regions of the world because the basic needs are provided everywhere. And also the social system works around the world and companies are regulated for the good of the people.
Social security is globally available for everyone. You are insured from birth to death. There is one social security that covers it all.
All this may result in a shortage of workers in system-relevant areas. To counteract that, we need to automate everything that is possible. The jobs, where humans are needed, should be the highest-paid jobs in the system. A nurse would earn more than a CEO of a social media company.
That would mean a total shift, but that’s what we want to achieve with the good system.
Of course this is very simplified. It is a vision and not a detailed step-by-step plan. Which we need, but that’s the job for experts.
Conclusion
The unemployment benefits system is flawed and unfair. Because it counteracts with the current system. It tries to resolve a problem that occurs because the system counteracts with human needs.
The system forces people to work, even if they don’t want. Many health issues occur because of that. Which produce costs for the public, not the economy, of course.
In our good system, we would flip this. No one needs to work, but everyone can. The basic needs are met, but if you want more or achieve something, you need to earn money.
What would you do? Would you get a job or not?
My name is Ian DeBay.
I am the founder of iandebay.com. I am a content creator, blogger, podcast, YouTuber. This is my blog where I talk about system change, sustainability and other fun stuff.
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