Extended Unemployment Benefits Lead to More Unemployment

"Management Recruiters of Sacramento, Calif., says it recently had a tough time filling six engineering positions at an Oregon manufacturer paying $60,000 a year—and suspects long-term jobless benefits were part of the hitch.

"We called several engineers that were unemployed," says Karl Dinse, a managing partner at the recruiting firm. "They said, nah, you know, if it were paying $80,000 I'd think about it." Some candidates suggested he call them back when their benefits were scheduled to run out, he says."

$60K seems low for an engineering job requiring any experience. I'm surprised they don't just hire 3 people at $80K and work them double like so many others are doing. If most anyone normally made $60k and was offered a comparable job, they would jump at it, compared to what they get for unemployment.

So the authors entire argument that extending unemployment is based on an anecdotal tale about "several engineers" that a company called?

That makes no sense what so ever... even assuming that the engineers were unemployed it does not show that they were on extended unemployment. Further such highly trained individuals are in the minority. Extended unemployment helps those at the bottom rungs of society stay afloat (roof over their heads and food in their stomachs), while engineers can likely float off their savings for a while... and afford to be picky about their potential employers.

Unions have become the dominant political influence in California. At the mere hint of any threat to their power structure, the union-financed political machine fires up and intimidates all opposition. The hubris of the unions is such that during a legislative budget committee hearing last summer, one union leader threatened, “We helped get you into office and we’ve got a good memory.”
The CTA’s spending is especially noteworthy when one considers the issues it spends its members’ dues on. Most of the CTA’s 325,000 members probably assume that their dues are used only on education -related matters. But the CTA has branched out into all sorts of political battles beyond education funding.
Although it would seem logical that a teachers union would only focus on education issues, a look at the CTA web site reveals the true goal of this progressive union. According to the CTA mission statement, the union exists to “protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education.” That sounds like a perfectly ordinary goal for a teachers union.
But the mission statement goes on to explain that the union also exists to “ensure that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just, equitable, and democratic society .” Ensuring “human dignity and civil rights,” as well as a “more just, equitable and democratic society” is far beyond the scope of simply lobbying for teachers’ salaries or more school supplies.
Since 2000, the CTA has spent over $38 million on lobbying the state legislature. A look at the legislation the CTA is lobbying in the current legislative session shows a focus on more than school-related matters.
The CTA is actively supporting Senate Joint Resolution 9, legislation calling upon Congress and the President to repeal the “discriminatory” Don’t Ask Don’t Tell military policy. It also lobbied to pass Senate Bill 572, which declares May 22 Harvey Milk Day in California, in honor of the homosexual activist from San Francisco.
Apparently universal healthcare has become a priority for the teachers union as it supported Senate Bill 1, legislation that would extend Medi-Cal coverage to illegal immigrants’ children. And the CTA isn’t just supporting, but is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 810, which would implement a single-payer government -run healthcare system in California. The CTA lobbied against a Republican-sponsored healthcare reform measure that would have provided greater competition in health insurance by allowing out-of-state carriers to sell plans in California
Even more telling than the legislation it supports, is the legislation the CTA opposes, including Senate Bill 370, which would have prevented voter fraud through voter identification requirements.
The CTA has also invested a great deal of time and money into the marriage issue. It supports Assembly Joint Resolution 19, calling on Congress and the President to repeal the “discriminatory” Defense of Marriage Act . It also lobbied on behalf of House Resolution 5 and Senate Resolution 7, which both expressed the legislature’s belief that Proposition 8 was an “improper” revision to the state constitution . In 2008, the CTA was among the biggest donors to the No on Proposition 8 campaign, pouring more than $1 million into the effort.
And if there were any doubt about the political party with whom the CTA most identifies, their $6.5 million dollar donation—the largest donation to any political party from the special interest groups—clearly signifies the union’s commitment to the Democrat Party.
Pay check protection is crucial to transforming California and diminishing the influence of unions. Union members who don’t agree with the aggressive social agenda of their unions are forced to pay dues spent on political campaigning that may violate their beliefs and standards. In the meantime, the CTA will continue to flood Sacramento with its money and influence—at the expense of those they supposedly represent.

The legislator(s) who wrote this have, by definition, no concept of what the "free market" is. Employers do not "distort" the market. They react to the natural forces at work in the market. So do landlords who write commercial leases. The idea that these capitalists don't know how much parking spaces cost them and need an artificial penalty system designed by collectivist nitwits in Sacramento is arrogant and stupid. It is so arrogant and stupid that it's impossible to tell whether the arrogance causes the stupidity or vice-versa.
California is living proof that there really is no end to the harm liberals will do to any economy they get their hands on. As several other posters have already pointed out, people are fleeing California by the hundreds of thousands because the state gov't has made it impossible to prosper there. So naturally the 'solutions' proposed by the state are to invent even more of the same onerous regulations that are already destroying that prosperity.
In another 2 years there won't be anyone left in California except spoiled movie stars and the homeless . Come to think of it, the "stars" won't be there either, in fact the movie studios are leaving now, it's to expensive. Of course, they won't broadcast that to the smelly and worshiping masses.

Most jobs have many more people applying that ever before. I say extend. With layoffs here in California people are now losing their houses because of our Governor's latest missive to cut every state employee to minimum wage until a budget is signed. And who's fault is that? They are not even trying to get a budget at this time. I say cut the legislators to no pay until the budget is signed. People who are unemployed need extra money until our nation turns things around even if that is possible anymore. I love how people point to the one in a million stories to prove some non existent point.