North Carolina yesterday became the first state to opt out from collecting extended unemployment benefits. Beyond those immediately affected, another 100,000 state residents could lose their benefits in the coming months. The new law also hacks the maximum weekly benefit a laid-off worker can receive from $535 to $350.
For some in the crowd of 1,200 gathered near the Statehouse, the loss is far more than a statistic. Wayne Bostic said he is unsure whether he will be able to remain in his home:
It means my check, which is the mortgage check, is not going to be there. How is a cut in anybody's money going to help a person?Chapel Hill resident Kristin Frescoln is the former manager of the state's drug treatment courts who lost her job in 2011 when the Legislature largely defunded the program. She said the protests build awareness of what is going on in North Carolina:
We have to bring attention to what is happening here. It's our obligation in a democracy to speak out.The state chapter of the NAACP, with the backing of unions, the North Carolina Democratic Party and others, have continued to put pressure on Gov. McCrory and the Legislature. They are dancing to the tune of the state's multimillionaire budget director, Art Pope. Pope is a friend of the Koch brothers and a disciple of ALEC, the escort service for corporations and state lawmakers. Pope helped pay for the 2012 candidacies of the governor and many state GOP lawmakers now in office.
Besides unemployment benefit cuts, the Legislature opted out of participating in the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, which would have covered an additional 500,000 North Carolinians. The Legislature is also proposing tax changes that would favor corporations and the rich over middle-class families and education cuts as well.
Stay tuned...
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