Due to the Recession, many folks I know have been laid off and are now collecting Unemployment. It’s lucky that we live in a country with safety nets! But how, exactly, do the ethics of Unemployment Benefits work?
Last week I overheard the following conversation on a bus in Southern Thailand:
British Carpenter: “So what do you do for work back in the States?”
American Woman: “Nothing now, but I used to work in finance. Now I just collect Unemployment. It’s more than enough to live on and travel out here in Southeast Asia. I’ve been doing it for over eleven months now.”
British Carpenter: “Traveling for a year on your government’s dime! How is that possible?!”
American Woman: “I just have to log into the website every two weeks, and I get my check.”
British Carpenter: (chokes on Pepsi and nearly falls off the bus)
So. There you have it. A handful of people are seeing the world on Uncle Sam’s dime, thanks to being laid off.
What do we think about this? Since I’ve never been on Unemployment myself (my current state of, er, “self-employment” is a voluntary leave of absence), I’m speaking from a place of relative ignorance. That said, here are some thoughts:
A.) CONs of travel while collecting Unemployment:
I think my mother would positively slap me across the face if I tried such a stunt, and she’s a peaceful being. There would be a lot of yelling and some choice words about wasting taxpayer money and being a drain on society. And in many ways I might agree.
From eavesdropping on the rest of the conversation (sorry– it was a small bus!) it was clear that this woman not only had made and saved a decent amount of money in her finance job, but she also came from a relatively wealthy family.
The Socialist within screams out that one should not take any more of a communal resource than absolutely necessary, even one is fully within the official rules of society. Stretching out Unemployment benefits much longer than necessary seems somewhat unethical!
B.) PROs of travel while collecting Unemployment:
That said, we do live in a global world with a global economy. This means that, technically, it is just as valid to be “looking for a new job” abroad as it to be “looking for a new job” while sitting on your couch at home.
In fact, the skills and perspectives one might acquire through travel might in fact make a person far more employable in the future. By physically being in a number of different cities in a short amount of time, more job options and interviews can become possible.
Finally, nowadays, the majority of job searching takes place over the Internet, which can just as easily searched in California as in Cambodia. In fact, the cost of living is so low in regions such as Southeast Asia, that travel while on Unemployment usually causes LESS financial stress than not traveling.
Ergo, perhaps the American woman had a point that it made equal sense for her to be in Thailand collecting Unemployment as to be cold in Chicago.
So there are both sides of the debate. Where do you stand? As always, the answer likely likes in the middle: travel is great, but only use Unemployment benefits as long as you really need them!
(Note: All photos are from my $12-a-night resort in gorgeous Ko Lanta, Thailand… which I am paying for through my savings from working as a teacher, not from Unemployment benefits!)
This is really interesting. I guess I don’t understand how unemployment works. Do you have to take any job that comes along? Or can you be super selective? What if you decide you want to be a movie star, with no prior experience? Could you collect unemployment (while traveling) because you can’t find a job being a movie star?
Good questions! I’m not sure, but maybe someone else can weigh in?
I met a traveler once who was unemployed and traveling while collecting checks. But they were not traveling perpetually, just a three week trip to a country in SE. Asia. I believe they said they have to check in physically at a department once every few weeks to discuss the job search, but mostly in his time off he went skiing and then the vacation. From the conversation, I was getting the feeling that they were planning the trip anyway so no point not taking it just because you got laid off a few months before.
I feel like if I ever got laid off and then went off to travel the life of a nomad, I wouldn’t even bother. I would just become that statistic of people who stopped looking for work. Or at the very least, collect unemployment until you leave, then quit. But I suspect that with a website that earns revenue and the public knowledge of you traveling would kind of make that one even a bit difficult.
As long as she is truly looking for a job, then I see no problem with her physically residing wherever she wants to. She could be living in California, Idaho, Paris, or Thailand and it wouldn’t make a difference. The question then becomes: was she actively looking for a job? We’ll never know.
Good point! Although someday she may find her way to my site and share her story. It’s happened before!
At first this shocked me. But then I was thinking about it and if and only if she has intentions of actually finding a job abroad during her travels would I think this is ok. If she only plans to use the money on traveling then heck yeah I think it’s wrong. I know in my city jobs are extremely hard to find and to find one I’d def have to go else where. But if she’s just logging in and applying to jobs she knows she’ll never get a call for and just collecting the check, then she is totally working the system and taking what someone else in need could have had. Good argument though!
“..Unemployment. It’s more than enough to live on and travel out here in Southeast Asia. I’ve been doing it for over eleven months now.””There you have it. A handful of people are seeing the world on Uncle Sam’s dime, thanks to being laid off. What do we think about this?” To my fellow Bostonian and traveler L, I think I’m choking on my pepsi too… ~ Shea, http://www.roadtripsbyshea.com ~
Let’s be clear here. It’s ILLEGAL to collect unemployment if you’re not genuinely looking for work. Before you even touch the ethics of this situation, you have to look at the legality of it. In the story you mention, that woman is clearly not intending to go back to work at the drop of a hat. I’m going to claim the LEGAL high ground for a moment and state that some years back, I stopped collecting unemployment to go camping, then went back on when I got back home.
It’s also risky. You can be called in to report your activities, present logs of your job search, the whole deal. You are required to not just look passively for inappropriate jobs in a false show of effort — you can end up in the awful situation of being required to pay back your unemployment benefits if there’s reason to believe that your job search is not genuine. Again, I’m not talking ethics, I’m talking legality.
The ethic question is a sidebar. It’s illegal AND risky, two bad behaviors to engage in for any traveler.
Shawn said…
I’m with mom on this one. The freeloader traveling lady is not doing the right thing. This is a classic tragedy of the commons example.
December 14, 2009 4:35 PM
Anonymous said…
I disagree ,There are few jobs and we payed in to this fund.A more honest approach for The U.S. government (and Pragmatic)is turn us all into Esl
instructors (at a reduced benefit)Reduce the Unempoyment numbers ,Pair up skilled tradespersons with NGO’s i.e.Habitat for Humanity,and create a
honest system of subsidizied Travel and humanitarian relief ala Peace Corp with more flexibility .
December 14, 2009 6:51 PM
Franny said…
I’m with mom too. I know personally when you fill out that online form for your check, you have to say “Yes I looked for work this week”, and “No, I was not able to find work this week” – and then sign it digitally. She’s basically committing fraud every week. Anonymous – if that system gets set up and she goes back out on the road, okay that’s ethical, but for now I think she’s wrong.
December 14, 2009 9:40 PM
Mark H said…
I’m sorry but if this woman isn’t genuinely looking for work (whether living in Thailand or elsewhere) I don’t see how she is eligible for unemployment benefits. I don’t know how the US works but in my country if she is ever found out then all the amount she has falsely claimed can be legally reclaimed by the government and she can be charged with fraud.
December 15, 2009 7:24 AM
Steve said…
)
Interesting post !
Here in the UK, you have to attend the unemployment office every 2 weeks in person.
Interesting that U.S. residents can ‘sign-in’ online.
When I took my year out in 2005/06, I just used my savings to fund my trip. It wouldn’t even have entered my mind to consider claiming unemployment benefit.
December 15, 2009 2:49 PM
Dana said…
You can put me in Mom’s corner, too. Franny has it exactly right — she’s lying to the system.
December 15, 2009 5:56 PM
Louisa said…
Agreed. Sure she could be looking for jobs as she travels, but it sounds like she’s not. There are people that really need that money and she clearly doesn’t. Anyways, does unemployment really last that long, and you really don’t have to show up or have any proof that you applied for jobs? I’m skeptical, but haven’t looked into it.
December 16, 2009 12:42 AM
docwood said…
Folks where ever you might be,
Unemployment benefits in the USA is handled by the State Governments. Therefore it varies from one state to another. New York State does require physical attendance regularly to show efforts and discuss needs and to use the office resources at one of the State Unemployment Centers while collecting unemployment benefits. What folks often forget is that when you are working in the USA, the employers are obligated to pay for state and federal unemployment insurance to the State and Federal Governments’ Unemployment Insurance Fund, for each of the workers they employed. These are part of the payroll taxes amoung other taxes that the employers have to bear. The employers are often penalized with increased unemployment taxes if they layoff workers. So unemployment benefits in the USA are in the grey area of a mixture of insurance claims and government support. Therefore, I would not totally criticize this wonderful woman travelling in Thailand while looking for possible opportunities in SEA. A quick and short overheard conversation is not enough to jump into judgement. What she said might be just trying to lighten up things in life rather than be totally stressed out in the Chicago winter. Merry X’mas and happy new year to all!!!
December 24, 2009 4:06 PM