America's safety net undeniably needs reform. Unemployment insurance is a necessary protection against catastrophe, but it robs us of economic contribution when we need it most.
I propose creating a new first line of unemployment defense: a jobs program of infrastructure investment, whereby those who would currently go directly onto welfare first need to spend a maximum of 52 weeks working on federally-funded infrastructure projects, with an additional 26 weeks of traditional insurance available after that, if necessary.
This would be paid for by channeling a large portion of current UE taxes into a project fund, with all federal taxes from project wages going directly to the insurance fund.
This way America can reduce overlapping investment and improve our country even in a downturn.