(WWJ/AP) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has called a halt to a plan to end the extra $300 monthly payments for Michigan's unemployed by the end of the month.
Republicans in the state Legislature pushed for the payments to stop before the federal deadline of September 4, saying the extra cash is causing people to sit home, resulting in a labor shortage that's hampering business in the state.
Whitmer vetoed the the bill, saying it violated federal law which mandates a 30-day notice.
In a letter obtained by the Detroit News explaining her veto, Whitmer said she is "open to discontinuing" the enhanced benefit early if the Legislature "swiftly allocates" federal funding for childcare and raises the regular unemployment benefit to match neighboring states.
Whitmer also notes the legislation also would not have taken effect until 2022, by which time it would have been moot.
Meanwhile, the idea that many people would rather collect unemployment than find jobs in a post-pandemic Michigan has become a popular right-wing talking point, often parroted on social media.
Those speaking out against Whitmer's veto on Tuesday included Tori Sachs, executive director of the conservative Michigan Freedom Fund, who noted that roughly 300,000 fewer Michiganders are working today than at the beginning of the pandemic lockdowns.
She contended that states that have ended “enhanced” unemployment payments at taxpayer expense have seen their unemployment rates fall faster.
"Governor Whitmer has been paying her own cabinet members hundreds of thousands of dollars to leave their jobs, so it’s no surprise she wants taxpayers to pony up extra cash to keep the rest of the state off the job, too,” said Sachs, in a statement. “We’re never going to help struggling local businesses until we stop spending extra tax dollars to keep people out of the workforce.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.