The Congress and state legislatures face opposition to extending unemployment benefits into an indefinite future. 15 to 20 million Americans are now stranded by an economy that cannot employ them for that same indefinite future. Penalizing Americans for tapping their own retirement accounts with stiff tax liabilities makes no sense at all.
Future costs supporting a larger proportion of the population with less or no retirement savings can hurt. We may suffer later, but we are suffering now as our current living situations degrade in accumulating ways.
Direct the IRS to retroactively wave penalties for early withdrawals on retirement accounts during any quarter where the total new people entering the workforce plus the total newly unemployed exceeds new jobs created in that quarter.