The Missouri budget compromise
Missouri joined Michigan in cutting benefits for unemployment recipients from 26 weeks to 20 weeks, reports Jo Mannies of the St. Louis Beacon. According to the Obama administration, the law will hit unemployed Missouri residents twice:
The federal Department of Labor said in a statement late today that the state’s benefit cut means that the affected unemployed workers will qualify for fewer weeks of additional federal help. The federal unemployment benefits are based on the worker’s former wages and the extent of their state benefit, which is doled out first, the department said.
Missouri has received a lot less attention than Michigan did — maybe Michigan made it politically possible for other states to cut benefits.