Unemployment insurance is taken from taxes on the employer. It is not taken from the taxpayers of America, does not come from the federal government, (except in the case of the federal extensions when we are in a severe recession) and in
almost all of the states, it does not come from take outs to the paychecks of the employees (Thank you pattitax
!)
Because the shipping industry is very seasonal and sporadic, and the employees are out of work through no fault of their own frequently due to the availablity of ships, the companies pay a high unemployment tax rate to the state where they have their business set up. This tax is based also on the size of their payroll and the wages each individual receives. These employees are quite highly trained and specialized, and it is much to the advantage of the employer to keep them available through down times so that they will have them there when another shipping opportunity comes available. Yes, it's a pretty good deal to be able to come home and draw $400 a week for part of the year, but it goes with the nature of that particular job. That other eight months, they aren't home, and the job might be tough sometimes.
When the person is out of work through no fault of his own, when the company has no other assignment to send them out on, they are fully eligible to sign up on unemployment insurance benefits. These are not welfare payments, they are not calculated or given out based on the financial situation of the person receiving them, but on their being out of work without fault. There is no reason a person who annually makes $70,000 should not receive this insurance when they are out of work through no fault of their own and meets the eligibility standards.
No, the government does not have the system so screwed up that the unemployment program is costing the taxpayer billions. Unemployment insurance has been shown to actually have a positive effect on the economy as a whole. It is primarily paid for by employers, and the bigger payrolls with the highest fluctuations of employment pay the most. They can most afford it.
In answer to the question about the child support, in my state and in my experience how the child support and unemployment issue works out when it is being paid through the courts, is that the child support taken from unemployment benefits is set up not by a fixed amount, but by a percentage of the party's income. So in a month where he'd received unemployment insurance only, the amount of the support owed would be less, but it would be the same percentage of his income as other months.