Millionaires Raked in $80M in Jobless Benefits

Here are the numbers for 2009
from WSJ:
Second, even if millionaires don’t deserve assistance, focusing on them loses sight of bigger benefits spending. The 2,362 Americans with $1 million received just $20.8 million in assistance in 2009, a figure that’s just 0.02% of total reported unemployment benefit income and “relatively small,” the CRS says. “The potential administrative costs [of making high-income groups ineligible for benefits] could outweigh the potential savings.” By contrast, there are over 120,000 Americans in households earning between $200,000 and $500,000 getting assistance, to the tune of over $1 billion — and over 800,000 Americans in households earning $100,000 to $200,000 getting nearly $7 billion in benefits. Does someone in a household earning $175,000 really need this assistance either? Where do we draw the line? It isn’t so clear.

Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/guess-how-many-millionaires-collect-unemployment/#pbcDRbszOOpA00cb.99