New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has come under fire from unemployed residents of his state, some of whom have joined together to “demand action” on what they say is a “pandemic” the governor is neglecting: the “unemployment pandemic,” which is being exacerbated by delays in unemployment funds. Amid the growing frustration over the economic situation, Murphy is assuring unemployed New Jersey residents that they “won’t lose one penny” of their delayed unemployment money.
“NJ unemployment is a nightmare for many people,” reads a statement on the Facebook page of a newly formed activist group drawing attention to the “NJ Unemployment Pandemic.” “Our Governor has drug his feet and rarely addresses the issue during his daily briefings. The NJ constituents deserve better.”
“Many people are going to struggle to provide their families food let alone rent and utilities,” the statement continues. “We can stand united or fall alone. Stand up and make a difference. Demand action now!”
“People can’t go six and seven weeks without money. You just simply can’t,” said the group’s founder Michelle Izzi, as reported by CBS New York.
Izzi, the outlet notes, is “one of more than 850,000 New Jersey workers who have filed for unemployment since March 15.”
“People have no food. People are talking about suicide,” Izzi said.
“We’re literally begging you, sir, please come out of your ivory tower, come down here in the trenches with your people and actually see what’s going on, answer us,” Izzi said in reference to New Jersey’s Democratic governor.
Another New Jersey resident, Maria Matos, described her attempt to file for unemployment and told a familiar story, as CBS reports. “Yesterday I tried to file between 8 and 9 in the morning. I couldn’t because the line was down. Checked every hour, the line was down all day,” said Matos.
In response to the growing “exasperation” about the state’s delays in getting people unemployment checks, which are supposed to include the money offered through the coronavirus emergency economic relief package, Gov. Murphy called for patience and promised people they “won’t lose one penny.”
“This will make… this will not make anyone feel any better, but we are leagues ahead of virtually every other state. But there’s still a backlog,” said Murphy, as reported by CBS. “I know folks are still frustrated. You won’t lose one penny, I promise you, including of your federal plus.”
The state’s labor department has distributed $1 billion in unemployment since the crisis first began in mid-March, CBS reports.
Similar complaints about backlogged unemployment filings are coming out of New York, where 1.4 million residents have filed for unemployment in the six weeks since the lockdowns began.
The historic $2.2 trillion coronavirus emergency package passed last month offered a series of economic relief measures to Americans, among them an additional $600 per week for unemployment checks. However, “[r]eports of crashing systems and busy phone lines have surfaced across the country as states struggle with unprecedented unemployment levels,” The Hill reported. As a result of the delays in multiple states, the Department of Labor has intervened, attempting to help states more efficiently distribute the money, which will be paid retroactively effective March 29.
On Monday, President Trump explained to his 78 million followers on Twitter who to blame for any delays in receiving their additional unemployment money. “Blame the Democrats for any ‘lateness’ in your Enhanced Unemployment Insurance,” he tweeted. “I wanted the money to be paid directly, they insisted it be paid by states for distribution. I told them this would happen, especially with many states which have old computers.”
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