Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez,
Oct 7, (THAINDIAN NEWS) In 2008, estimated 2,800 households with an annual income of $1 million had filed for government unemployment payments. Internal Revenue Data shows that a total of $5.2 million have been collected by the millionaire applicants, in the form of unemployment benefits. The revelation has left many people fuming over it. The resentment is caused by the fact that as millionaires they already have a lot of money. The millionaires think otherwise as by existing in the category of tax payers, they are entitled to the same benefits as any other American citizen. The argument has legal validation as unemployment benefits are a form of insurance and is funded by tax paid by the people.

The millionaires saw it as an opportunity to get some of their dollars back which they had paid in the form of taxes to the government. The millionaires are among the highest tax payers in the country and if they lost their jobs it is reasonable for them to make use of their unemployment status and get the benefits they are entitled to. On moral considerations though the incident appears quite selfish on the part of rich people.

With the rate of people below the poverty line having increased since recession, it makes little sense for a rich person not to consider the plight of his fellow countrymen. Many are critically examining the whole incident with the outlook that if a millionaire had enough liquidity to live on, then he ought to have relaxed on his benefits. The funds used by the millionaires accounts for only 0.012% of the total and is considered a negligible amount by some.