Letter: Make unemployment benefits kick in sooner
(Paul Sancya | AP file photo) A closed sign is shown at Romeo & Juliet Furniture and Appliances with an empty parking lot in Detroit, Thursday, April 2, 2020. The coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak has triggered a stunning collapse in the U.S. workforce with 10 million people losing their jobs in the past two weeks and economists warn unemployment could reach levels not seen since the Depression, as the economic damage from the crisis piles up around the world.
Governor Herbert,
As one of the thousands of Utahns who has been forced to seek government assistance as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, I urge you to call a special session of the Legislature with the intent to waive the one-week waiting period for unemployment benefits.
Working-class Utahns have seen their jobs, wages, dreams and careers simply vanish due to no fault of their own and deserve swift and decisive action from our state officials in mitigating the problem.
Let's not import the worst of Washington's confusion, bickering and inaction to our great state. Instead, let's show America and the world that Utah will take bold actions to support its citizens in this time of crisis.
Keith Carrick, Salt Lake City
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