[Extending u]nemployment benefits may also be the government’s thriftiest option. When they exhaust unemployment assistance, many workers apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (S.S.D.I.) — a programme from which they are unlikely to return to the labour force. The lifetime cost of disability benefits is significant. By recent estimates, a shift of just 200,000 unemployed workers to S.S.D.I. could entail an increase in government lifetime costs of up to $24 billion. If unemployment benefits keep those people in the labour force, the savings could be substantial.
— “Unemployment Benefits: Read This Shirt”
