Corbett
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Legal Newsline) - Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett said last week that some workers who are between jobs will stay that way as long as they are receiving unemployment benefits.
Corbett made the comment on Pennsylvania Public Radio while campaigning for governor in Elizabethtown. His Democratic opponent in the election, Dan Onorato, said he doesn't know "what world (Corbett) is living on."
"People don't want to come back to work while they still have unemployment. They're literally telling - I'll come back to work when the unemployment runs out. That's becoming a problem," Corbett said.
"The jobs are there, but if we keep extending unemployment the people are going to sit there and... I've literally had construction companies tell me, I can't get people to come back to work, until... they say, 'I'll come back to work when unemployment runs out.'"
Onorato is drawing attention to the comment, issuing a press release to criticize it. Polls have shown Corbett with a lead over Onorato, Allegheny County's chief executive.
Onorato said there are nearly 600,000 Pennsylvanians out of work and living on an average of $310 per week in unemployment benefits.
"This is a fundamental difference between me and my opponent, and I don't know what world Tom Corbett is living in," Onorato said. "Our economy is struggling, families in Pennsylvania are hurting, and Harrisburg insiders like Tom Corbett aren't doing anything to help them.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.