How to Fix the Government

Things did not go smoothly when, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in spring 2020, Congress turned to the unemployment system to help people who found themselves out of work. The under-resourced state agencies that carry out the day-to-day administration of the unemployment system would now have to get tens of billions of dollars into the pockets of the newly unemployed—which, by and large, they did. But they also had to avoid making payments to grifters who didn’t qualify. That proved more difficult.

Consider Michigan, the state where I live. In pre-COVID times, Michigan’s unemployment agency would wait at least 10 days before paying a claim to allow the agency to verify an applicant’s work history. During the pandemic, with claims skyrocketing, Michigan officials came under intense bipartisan to “get money out the door faster.” As part of that effort, the agency decided the 10-day hold wasn’t strictly essential. Even without it, an