Another day and another set of issues for the beleaguered Louisiana Workforce Commission: Large numbers of jobless workers complained on social media Tuesday that they received only one of the two $600 extra payments the federal government owed them.These benefits systems are designed to be hostile to benefits applicants. Kicking the poors has been a top priority in American politics for decades and this is a perfect expression of that. Now a lot of people who didn't think they could be the poors are seeing what that is like.
The agency is aware of the problem and will ensure that everyone receives what they are due, said Robert Wooley, assistant secretary for unemployment benefits and a former state insurance commissioner.
I'm aware that some left activists see this as a strategic opportunity. Once everyone sees how broken and inhumane the system is, surely that will be a catalyst for fixing the broken and inhumane system. But that's not what's going to happen. Anyone who thinks so hasn't been paying attention to how this works. The most likely outcome of mass contact with a broken system is further denigration of faith in the system. Which, of course, is what this project has been about all along. Government-can't-fix-anyone's-problems is a deliberate self-fulfilling prophecy.
Americans are not class conscious political actors. They are individuated consumers. If the social benefits system is not working for them, they will assume it's because they have chosen to buy into the wrong product.
Have attempted all three state and federal avenues of relief today and none had any answers or movement. Pivoting to capitalism.— Rev. Varg Vargas (@vargvargas) April 14, 2020
There's no collective realization that "we're all in this together." The more powerful narrative in American politics is, "Maybe everyone is poors now but I am going to be a better, smarter poor than those other lazy suckers over there." We can go on like this pretty much forever no matter how many die along the way.
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