Call it what it is

In journalism we should call a thing what it is, not what it once was.

So we should stop calling what the Senate passed yesterday — extension to Dec. 31 of unemployment insurance benefits — unemployment "insurance," and call it what it is — the dole.

Insurance is when people pool their resources to cover shared risks. The majority will pay more in premiums than they draw in benefits, but some may receive more than paid in to cover whatever event is insured.

Employers pay unemployment insurance premiums based on their experience ratings. Some businesses incur more joblessness than others. The employees then are paid benefits based on an actuarial table calculation of what those premiums will cover. When we throw out all the rules, it is not longer insurance. It is welfare, or the dole.

"On the Dole"

By Frank Hennessy and Claire Worsfold

On the dole, on the dole
It can break a man, destroy him heart and soul
No sweets for my sweet children and no flowers for my wife
At twenty-five it seems that I'll be on the dole for life
On the dole, on the dole ...

But life can be so cruel, for everywhere I went
They said, There's nothing for you here, lad, your time has been badly spent
We're laying people off, son, for we cannot pay the rent
So back I go for handouts from the good old government ...