Two years ago I received a troubling call from an unemployed senior who said his unemployment benefits were reduced by the amount of his Social Security income, leaving his unemployment payments at a paltry $13 a week.

Thanks to the persistent efforts of Sen. Carolyn Allen, R-8, and Governor Napolitano, now older workers no longer have their benefits reduced due to Social Security income. Arizona’s unemployed workers also received a long overdue increase in benefits. [H2440 was signed into law by the governor May 20. Beginning July 1, 2004, the maximum amount of unemployment insurance was increased to $240 per week from $205.]

I have been unemployed and know how emotionally gut wrenching the experience can be, let alone the huge loss of financial support. Like any insurance, unemployment insurance should provide some peace of mind. For those of us who have been working to improve Arizona’s benefits (formerly the lowest in the country) this is a moment to celebrate, but it is not a time to rest.

Unfortunately, the story of how this unemployment benefit increase was established also reveals a great deal about our political process. Even with the 17 per cent increase in the maximum benefit from $205 to $240 a week, Arizona’s maximum benefits are still the 48th worst in the country (above Mississippi and Alabama). We still trail behind neighboring states like New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Utah that have average maximum weekly benefits of $333.

In practice, this means that a typical unemployed worker in our state will receive about $250 a month less than our neighboring states. We gain perspective on this amount when we realize that it equals the monthly car payment for many families.

While we work toward a competitive business climate and quality schools in Arizona, we should also strive for quality unemployment benefits for our workers. But the very suggestion of indexing unemployment benefits for quality assurance purposes makes many lawmakers cringe.

In 2000, Republican Senator Ed Cirillo put forward legislation that would have indexed the maximum unemployment benefit in the state to half of the average weekly wage.

If that bill had been enacted, current maximum weekly benefits would be $330 instead of $240 and workers would not be reliant on the Legislature’s whims.

Instead of the current predicament, we would have seen benefits automatically adjust to keep pace with increases in the average weekly wage.

However, that bill not only died in the Senate, but also caused Mr. Cirillo to be targeted and defeated in the Republican primary in 2002.

When Ms. Allen picked up the mantle from Mr. Cirillo, her aim was more realistic. She worked to raise maximum weekly unemployment benefits to $240 by cooperating with the governor and meeting with stakeholders to forge a compromise that would get through. The new raise is an important step in improving unemployment compensation, but it should not be considered the end of the road.

Improving unemployment insurance has been limited by the perception of its cost on business. Yet, the council on state taxation, a business sponsored trade association, has found state and local business taxes are less than 2 per cent of the cost of doing business. In Arizona, unemployment insurance taxes are only a miniscule part of that.

Families in this state deserve a better insurance plan. We will all benefit when families have sufficient financial protection when parents lose their jobs.

David Wells is a policy analyst for the Arizona Leadership Institute and a faculty member at Arizona State University. Commentary is provided by The Arizona Editorial Forum, an educational organization that provides views on public issues.