According to the article in the Wall Street Journal, some people are getting way better unemployment benefits than the rest of us. They’re benefiting from a program that President Kennedy started, and President Obama just beefed up, called Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). Apparently it’s intended to help people who lost their jobs due to foreign trade. Eligibility becomes a real judgment call.
According to the article, very few people qualify.
A tiny slice of America’s jobless currently receives the benefits — some 50,000 people, out of more than 5 million now collecting unemployment checks. But an examination of the TAA program and recent awards suggest that the pool of potential beneficiaries could be far larger. With new unemployment claims at a 26-year high and the program expanding, the number of applicants is poised to jump.
The point of the article isn’t to tout the benefits of the TAA program, but rather to point out that the American unemployment system is a bit a of a mess.
Mess or not, you should get what you can, so why not see if you’re eligible for TAA benefits.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey, thanks! I didn’t know anything about this. Of course I’m not eligible, but it’s really great of you to let people know. Keep up the good work!
Hi Chuck,
Yeah, I’m not eligible, either. Where are you? I’m in Maryland. The state has actually been very helpful. A couple times I joked to my wife, “I wish they would stop trying to help me so much.”
See ya, Jack