Economist: Scott’s team misread his report

The problem with unemployment is not overly generous benefits, but the lack of jobs, according to Princeton University Prof. Alan Krueger. Gov-elect Rick Scott’s transition team misused and misinterpreted Kruegar’s studies to support the popular GOP Right Wing myth that the unemployed are lazy people who rather collect unemployment checks than work.

The Sun-Sentinel reports: Citing Krueger, the transition team report indicated that many laid-off workers spend little time looking for a new job. Krueger said his research actually found that, on average, unemployed people twice the amount of time daily looking for work that the Scott team reported.

The primary problem today, Krueger said, “is a lack of demand for workers, not lack of search effort.”

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