Legislators promised — on video — they would help the unemployed. Now keep your promise | Editorial

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But if something is broken, if it’s denying help to desperate people, it should be fixed as soon as possible.

Florida’s unemployment system wasn’t just broken, it was a smoldering ruin of bureaucratic ineptitude. During election season, Central Florida voters looked to hire a bunch of people to fix the problem.

When candidates were asked if they were —committed to the task, the standard response was unequivocal.

“Absolutely.”

They got the jobs. Now we’re going to find out whether those candidates are as good as their words.

Republican leaders in the Legislature are sending signals that increasing Florida’s meager unemployment benefits won’t be a priority when the legislative session begins in March.

The mere fact they decided not to convene until March was telling. If ever a situation cried out for quick action, it was the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic carnage.

Gov. Ron DeSantis did push for a special session, but it was to crack down on protesters. Never mind there are plenty of laws already on the books that would handle that problem.

There is nothing on the books to handle this state’s unemployment problems. When federal supplements ended in September, hundreds of thousands of Floridian were again at the mercy of system that pays a maximum of $275 a week.

That’s the fifth-lowest figure in the U.S., and the four states below Florida pay benefits for 26 weeks. For 2020, our payments were calibrated to last a measly 12 weeks.

And getting payments assumes the state’s $77 million lemon of an employment system can even find an applicant’s files.

But fear not, Floridians. When legislators finally make it to Tallahassee in March, House Speaker Chris Sprowls said their prime concern will be getting people back to work.

“That should be the focal point of the Legislature - making sure how do we break down barriers or create a pathway that if you want to work and you want to get a job it shouldn’t be so hard to find where that job is,” he said.

Translation: We’re not going to worry much about increasing benefits.

That’s relatively easy for Sprowls to say. He represents Pinellas County, where the unemployment rate is down to a manageable 5.2%.

It’s double that – 10.8% - in Osceola County, which has the state’s highest unemployment rate. Orange County is third at 8.8%.

Those aren’t just numbers. They’re people, many of whom had been gainfully employed for years in tourism-related careers. Now they face foreclosures, evictions and struggles to put food on the table.

Solving that dilemma will take a long-range plan with federal involvement. But for now the lifeline is bumping benefits to realistic rates.

So we asked candidates who participated in our Editorial Board endorsement interviews in the primary and general elections two questions:

Should the maximum weekly unemployment payment of $275 be raised? And are they in favor of reworking the sliding-scale system that currently limits payouts to 12 weeks?

It was a given that Democratic candidates would say “absolutely.” Republicans, however, engineered the current system. Yet every successful GOP House candidate was in favor of increasing benefits.

“Yes, I would,” said Keith Truenow, who won the District 31 seat in Lake County.

“I absolutely favor raising the amount of unemployment given,” said Rene Plasencia, who won the District 50 seat in Orange and Brevard.

“I think it should go up a lot,” said Scott Plakon, who won the District 29 seat in Seminole.

“Yes, I am in favor of increasing it,” said David Smith, who won the District 28 seat in Seminole.

“We have to put more into the benefits. We have to extend the time,” said Fred Hawkins, who won the District 42 seat in Osceola and Polk.

Josie Tomkow (District 39, Polk) and Anthony Sabatini (District 32, Lake) did not participate in our endorsement interviews. We don’t know where they stand, but you can usually count on Sabatini doing the wrong thing.

Jason Brodeur (Senate District 9 in Seminole) talked in circles about the topic but said of increasing benefits, “I’m always a proponent of making sure we are matching our standards to what the cost of living is today.”

Great. Florida has had a $275 weekly maximum since 1998. The cost of living has gone up approximately 60% since then. So the theoretical match Brodeur favors would increase weekly benefits to $440.

We’d pay $440 just to see the look on Sprowls’ face if Brodeur proposes a 60% benefit hike.

Perhaps the most prescient endorsement interview comment about the unemployment crisis came from Democrat Anna Eskamani, who won the House District 47 seat in Orange.

“I have no doubt many of my colleagues will get back to Tallahassee and pretend like this never happened,” she said.

Her cynicism seems justified, considering Sprowls’ comments. Republican legislators will be pressured to follow the evolving party line. The Central Florida GOP delegation can’t change things by itself, but its members should remember their promise, and they should fight to keep it.

If they don’t, voters will have a question for their representatives: Should you go to the political unemployment line the next possible opportunity?

Absolutely.

Editorials are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board and are written by one of its members or a designee. The editorial board consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick, David Whitley and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com.

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