The best way to help those who are unemployed is to create new jobs, AWB President Don Brunell writes in his weekly column.
But employers can't spend money on hiring if they're paying it into the state's unemployment system instead.
And yet that's exactly the scenario that Washington businesses are facing right now. Many businesses were forced to lay off employees to survive the recession, which meant more workers received unemployment benefits.
State officials need to replenish the rapidly diminishing unemployment trust fund so what do they do? Raise taxes.
It's the ultimate no-win situation, Brunell writes. A true Catch-22.
And it would only be made worse if lawmakers chose now to expand benefits.
Read the full column here.
