Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Extra Benefits for Anti-Vax Jobless? Really?

Republicans were right to worry that lavish Covid unemployment insurance could slow the recovery. But now they’re rewarding people who lose jobs for defying employer vaccine mandates.

January 7, 2022 at 12:00 PM UTC

By Michael R. Strain

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

They’re not victims.
Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

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Since the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020 and the federal government began using extraordinary measures to support workers, households and businesses, Republicans have been concerned that expanding the eligibility and generosity of unemployment benefits could slow the recovery and keep workers on the sidelines.

So why have a handful of Republican-led states now extended unemployment benefits to workers who have lost their jobs because of failing to comply with vaccine mandates, with other states considering following suit?