(RightWing.org) – With businesses forced to stay closed by lockdowns for most of the last year, millions of Americans were forced to rely on unemployment benefits to survive. Unfortunately, excessive bureaucracy means it’s often hard for them actually to claim them.
A Colorado social worker has lifted the lid on a hidden scandal in the US unemployment system. Sonia Falcón, who works in Denver, says many people are being shut out of benefits because they don’t have the technology needed to access them.
Until the pandemic, it was simpler to get unemployment benefits in Colorado and elsewhere. https://t.co/FYT1YFY4tc
— USA TODAY Tech (@usatodaytech) May 4, 2021
Since February, Falcón has spent at least ten hours a week helping just one unemployed worker navigate the benefits system. The state labor department’s new security system was designed to work with smartphones, and this client doesn’t have one.
She isn’t alone. Millions of Americans – usually the lowest-paid workers – can’t afford a smartphone or the expensive data package needed to keep one connected. They’re the people most likely to need fast access to unemployment benefits if they lose their jobs because they don’t have savings to fall back on. Unfortunately, government bureaucrats who don’t understand the reality of life on a low income are setting up systems that many ordinary Americans just can’t use.
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