Question

The business world is in a constant state of flux with a steady focus on profitability and market share. Employee compensation models employed by most employers include benefit cost for employees. Unemployment is one such cost that companies are required to pay into for their employees. Many feel that this is a burden that should be shared by both the employer and the employee. Should all people be required to pay into a pool to cover unemployment insurance to reduce the employer burden for this cost? State your position and support your position with solid reasoning. Research the history of unemployment to support your opinion.

Answer 1

Yes, I strongly believe that all people should be required to pay into a pool to cover unemployment insurance to reduce the employer burden for the cost of unemployment. Unemployment compensation programs pay weekly benefits to workers who are involuntarily unemployed. The chances of being unemployed is a tangible risk for each and every employee. There is a financial element to this risk and this financial element should be shared by all because it is not just the employers and companies employing these employees that benefit from the worker’s productivity but the employees and their families as well.

My argument is based on the premise and rational that both employers and employees should be made liable to bear this burden as both of them are directly affected and impacted. However the contribution of the employers should be much higher than the contribution by the employees.

My opinion is also supported by the unemployment history. Unemployment occurs when a person above a specified age is not paid in employment or self-employment. This happens when this person is currently available for work during the reference period. Unemployment can be traced back to the industrial revolution. Scarcity of labor was a factor that gave birth to and strengthened the economics of slavery across the world I general and USA in particular. With opening of new territories there was work to be found in digging canals and building railroads. World War I faced labor shortages and the unemployment levels began to rise after 1925. Given that the employers had provided for the workers by helping them to get out of slavery and then paying them properly and reasonably for the work being done by them it will only be proper if all people should be required to pay into a pool to cover unemployment insurance to reduce the employer burden for the cost of unemployment.