Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 | 9:04 a.m.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attack has caused Americans to cut back on their vacations and travel, a reduction that has hit tourism-based Las Vegas particularly hard. An estimated 15,000 workers here have lost their jobs. Charities have offered assistance -- helping people pay rent, for instance, so they don't get evicted -- but that money quickly has dried up.
Congress, meanwhile, still is locked in a debate over how much to increase unemployment benefits and whether health insurance coverage should be offered to laid-off workers. It's not clear when that impasse will end. So it is encouraging that Gov. Kenny Guinn has set up a $57 million program to help some of the workers who have lost their jobs since Sept. 11, funding that's expected to last for 18 months. Under Guinn's plan, a laid-off worker with a family of four would be eligible for an extra $229 in welfare benefits and another $200 in medical coverage every month.
Guinn tapped the surpluses of two reserve funds. The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program will provide $31 million while the remaining $26 million comes from Medicaid. Under the governor's program, unemployment benefits won't be counted as income, a new definition that will permit laid-off workers to receive more money.
It's too bad that the only people who can receive the extra assistance are those who apply for welfare benefits, a situation that means some people may not enroll because of the stigma that is attached to welfare. But workers should feel no shame in seeking benefits from a program they have been paying into for a long time. These are the very people that welfare was designed for -- workers who, because of a catastrophic event, find themselves out of work through no fault of their own.
Hopefully Southern Nevada has seen the worst of the economic downturn, and some local businesses, including casinos, have begun to rehire workers. But a recent job fair in Las Vegas drew 5,000 Las Vegans, a sign that a recovery is not yet here. The national economy also continues to be fragile, and recent concerns about further domestic terrorism haven't helped improve confidence among people who travel. We're not out of the woods yet, which is just one more reason why local, state and federal government should step up their efforts to help laid-off workers.
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