Fox News' Laura Ingraham suggests cutting off federal unemployment benefits to push people back to work: 'Hunger is a pretty powerful thing'

Lauren Ingraham Jon Taffer
Fox News host Lauren Ingraham and "Bar Rescue" host Jon Taffer. Fox News
  • Fox News host Lauren Ingraham had a suggestion to push people back to work.

  • "What if we just cut off the unemployment?" she said, adding, "Hunger is a pretty powerful thing."

  • Three separate analyses indicate that cutting off unemployment benefits didn't lead to substantial job growth.

  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Fox News host Lauren Ingraham had a suggestion on her program Thursday evening to bolster employment growth.

"What if we just cut off the unemployment?" she said, adding, "Hunger is a pretty powerful thing."

-Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 13, 2021

She veered between acknowledging the hardship some people face and encouraging them to find a job. "I'm talking about people who can work, and refuse to work," she said.

Video: Meet Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner

Bar Rescue host Jon Taffer responded: "They only feed a military dog at night, because a hungry dog is an obedient dog. Well, if we are not causing people to be hungry to work, then we're providing them with all the meals they need sitting at home."

However, 26 mostly GOP-led states have already cut off federal unemployment benefits in a bid to press people back to work. The results of that step may not be having the intended results.

Three different analyses from UKG, Homebase, and Indeed indicated that cutting off jobless benefits didn't lead to a substantial increase in employment or job growth.

The Homebase analysis also indicated employment grew faster in states that kept the jobless benefits compared to those that ended them early.

Two components of the shortages, per a recent Morgan Stanley note, include school closures and a mismatch between the industries that are hiring and the workers seeking jobs.

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