Gov. Andy Beshear yesterday dangled a $1,500 bonus meant to lure thousands of unemployed Kentuckians back to work, offering it as an alternative to cutting off enhanced jobless benefits that Republicans and businesses blame for causing a workforce shortage, the Associated Press reported. The first 15,000 Kentuckians who qualify and return to work by July 30 will receive the one-time, return-to-work incentive, the Democratic governor announced. Beshear said he’s setting aside $22.5 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to pay for the incentive. “It truly brings, I think, government and the private sector together in a way where first we try the carrot as opposed to the stick to resolve this problem,” Beshear said. The governor has faced increased pressure from Republican lawmakers and business groups to curtail the proliferation of “help wanted” signs showing up at Kentucky workplaces. Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne gave a blistering critique of the governor’s initiative. Offering a $1,500 bonus to get people to return to work is “extremely insulting” to people who have worked throughout the pandemic, Osborne said in a statement.
