Indiana maxes at $330/wk pre-tax. If you just lost a $15/hr, 40hr/wk job, many are left with the following scenario:

• You just lost $600/wk gross (~$450/wk net)
• Your monthly net income was $1950
• You now receive $330/wk if you choose to defer taxes
• You now have to adjust your monthly budget to $1430 ($520 less)

There are four ways that Hoosiers tend to deal with the $520/mo dilemma:

• Reduce monthly spending by removing non-essentials & eating Ramen
• Increase monthly budget by doing work under the table to regain the lost $520/mo while receiving unemployment payments
• Find a new job between $13/hr & $15/hr to make the transportation & labor "worth it" financially
• Find a new job for $7.25 to $11/hr & reduce monthly spending by an even larger margin than if you're sitting on ass

If they're stupid/proud enough to take a, for common example, $9/hr, 32hr/wk job, their monthly budget plummets to ~$1250. That's $180/mo less than unemployment. On top of that difference, they then have to shoulder the cost of transportation & meals for work...which can easily combine to $100/mo, even if you're being quite frugal. This puts you almost $300/mo behind where sitting on ass puts you.

Basically, in our zeal to protect people, we've set up a system which is bound to fail by actively encouraging people to not seek re-employment, unless they find their dream jobs. Let's face it...despite the shitty economy, a large portion of those who've become unemployed did so as a result of their previous employers identifying them as more chaff-like than wheat-like. In most cases, these people will not do well to hold out for a $19/hr ($40k/yr) management position.