Pennsylvania Unemployment Fund is Running Out

As the economy worsens, many people nation wide are being laid off, or having their working hours cut back, to save their company money. While we all count on state unemployment programs to get us through these hard times when we are hit with that unwanted pink slip, we never expect unemployment programs to 'go broke' or not be there for us.

Days after WGAL news station announced that Pennsylvania government will hire on 300 temporary workers to help with the flood of calls coming and extend their working hours, the Republican & Herald announces that the system is running out of funds to pay those claims.

The fear is that with the amount of new claims coming in, the current claims, and the extensions to current claims under the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008, their will not be as much taken in through PA payroll taxes as there will be paid out. The result is borrowing from Washington D.C. as the state has done before in 2004.

Many questions are sure to follow this announcement. One of my own is one in the same with the question about Social Security going broke in the future. Why are the funds not 'set aside' as they are taken out of each individual's paycheck and later used to pay that same individual. As it stands currently, the funds taken in to both programs through payroll deductions, or taxes, are used to pay individuals that are collecting those benefits now. They are not put in to any type of special, individual, account to secure your future, although they are taken out of your income.

After this recession is over, we can only hope that some kind of evaluation of all Government programs will be made. Otherwise, we may be looking at even harder times in the future, or worse, our children will have no 'life line' with Social Security or Unemployment Compensation. We can not let these programs continue on their path, nor can we let them go bankrupt.

I hope, after the recent billion dollar bailouts made by the government, that there is enough money left to 'bailout' unemployment programs if the need arises.