I’ve often argued that government-provided security (pick your poison: Social Security, Medicaid, Welfare, etc.) pose a moral hazard. Namely, that the recipients of such programs have a diminished incentive to care for themselves. This leads to, among other things, stagnation and lowered expectations. I now find myself uniquely qualified to comment on this.

Having been laid off on Friday, and crunching the numbers, it seems that unemployment will probably pay me about 3/4 of my previous wages. Only, I don’t have to do anything except fill out a form online, and call a hotline once a week. Now, certainly it seems that I don’t have a tremendous incentive to find a new job post-haste. Definitely, I do not have the same incentive as I would if I were unable to be a public burden. And I am basically precluded from taking any job that will pay me less than the state will pay me – even jobs that will pay somewhat more are less attractive, because I’ll actually have to earn the income if I have a job, whereas, when I’m on the public dole, I don’t have to do much of anything.

However, I am a fairly motivated individual, and my recent stagnation has been largely a result of becoming comfortable in my previous job. Not to mention the difficulties of finding a new job when you need to take vacation or sick days in order to schedule interviews. And the mantra of being the employee who is looking for another job does not help. I’ve heard through the grapevine that this quality of mine actually aided in the determination of who should be laid off. And although it seems a little shady, I can’t fault them explicitly for the decision.

But all this having been said, I’ve got a plan, and I’m actually not the least bit depressed about it. Sure, it sucks to be pushed out the door, but it also offers some great opportunities. For one, I’ve got final exams and a paper due in a week. I can use the new free time to study & compose my paper. I can also devote all of my resources towards finding a better job with a solid career path, one in which, hopefully, I’ll be alot happier.

Conveniently, a rival company’s recruiter also called me on Wednesday of last week, so my first order of business in the AM is to call her back and schedule interview number 1. I don’t want to stay in that line of work, but a paycheck & benefits are nice things to have.

Most people, however, don’t have a plan, and aren’t motivated to do very much of anything. Especially those with few marketable skills and low earning potential. The moral hazard of social welfare poses the greatest threat to these individuals – the very individuals who are intended to be the greatest recipient of assistance.