Valid Republican Idea of the Day! - Wage Insurance

I thought I would inaugurate a brand new segment and start highlighting positive ideas from across the aisle.  And with all of this bitching and moaning from the crazy right about the "handout" of unemployment benefits which Americans pay into, I thought I would highlight a reasonable idea from Republican policy makers that actually has some real merits over the outdated and relatively liberal system.

Wage Insurance

I will concede that my Republican friends are correct when they point out that the first few months of unemployment are probably not the most productive of one's life. You're probably angry and part of you might even be glad that you don't have that crappy job or crappy boss anymore.  You're probably getting productive with potato chips and making a bigger dent in your Netflix queue.

However, unlike some of my Republican friends, I don't believe that most people who are unemployed for an extended period of time are really living it up and enjoying the money that they get from the Federal Government.  I'm sure the relaxing and soul-searching part of unemployment starts to wear thin at around month number three. I also believe that it's a necessary - and highly effective - part of Keynesian stimulus policy. However, the current unemployment insurance model is in need of reform and here are some flaws worth considering:

It's boring and emotionally tiresome - I don't care what kind of job you have or had, people enjoy the feeling of being productive and DOING something. Sitting at home and looking for jobs on craigslist.org, monster.com, or careerbuilder.com all day is just the WORST.
Extended unemployment decays valuable skills -  Being unemployed for a long time doesn't only hurt your ego, it also affects the skills you invariably learn while on the job and makes you less prepared for a new job, when the economy does indeed recover.
Loss of valuable (and needed) productivity - The country and businesses, large and small need workers working, they just don't have the savings or credit access during a recession, especially a recession caused by the collapse of the financial markets that make lending possible.

Here's why wage insurance might have some real benefits over the current system.

In 2008, John McCain, included the idea in his acceptance speech as the Republican nominee for President. Although John McCain's version of wage insurance was not perfect, it still is an interesting method of maintaining overall productivity. John McCain's policymakers advocated that if you got laid off from your job that paid $60,000 per year, and you were able to secure a lower paying job at $20,000 per year, the government would subsidize your wages to as close of your old salary as possible, while continuing job training programs.

Although this particular policy of wage insurance solves the productivity problem, it does not solve the issue concerning the maintenance of valuable skills that help stem the problem of structural unemployment.  You're not going to be learning that new web design program while flipping burgers at McDonalds! My proposal would allow you to choose between traditional unemployment benefits and "wage insurance" benefits directed to your employer as an option that would keep you at your same job by subsidizing your salary to your employer.  That way you can keep your job, keep learning new skills, and your employer gets the labor it needs while getting some time to heal from the government.  You have your job and money in your pocket, the business gets its labor at a temporary - recession/depression - discount, and the government gets a GDP that doesn't shrink dramatically from millions out of the workforce.

Long story short, although there are some kinks to be worked out with this policy this is a Republican idea worth considering.

Your Valid Republican Idea of the Day!