Michigan goes into debt to aid jobless

The Detroit News reports:

The state posted a 12.9 percent April unemployment rate, a jump of three-tenths of a percentage point that's likely to keep Michigan at the top of states with the worst jobless levels in the nation.

It's also likely to keep Michigan at the top of another bad news list: states borrowing federal money to pay unemployment benefits. As of May 15, Michigan owes the U.S. Department of Labor $2.2 billion.

"In a nutshell, we're paying out more benefits than we're collecting," said Stephen Geskey, director of Michigan's unemployment insurance agency.

The state isn't alone. Thirteen others, including our Rust Belt neighbors in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Kentucky, are running tabs with the federal government so they can cut unemployment checks.

The struggles of non-federalism.