Congress extends jobless benefits, stocks sink

The Carlisle Sentinel / The Associated Press ^ | November 20, 2008 | Jim Abrams

[2ndDivisionVet]

Jarred by new jobless alarms, Congress raced to approve legislation Thursday to keep unemployment checks flowing through the December holidays and into the new year for a million or more laid-off Americans whose benefits are running out.

The economic picture was only getting worse, if Wall Street was any indication. The Dow Jones industrials dropped more than 400 points for a second straight day, reaching the lowest level in more than five years, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell below lows established six years ago.

The Senate's vote followed Thursday's government report that laid-off workers' new claims for jobless aid had reached a 16-year high and the number of Americans searching for work had surged past 10 million.

The White House, which had opposed broader legislation containing the benefits extension, urged passage of the new version and said President George W. Bush would quickly sign it.

As Congress prepared to leave town _ perhaps for the year _ there was no such resolution on helping the auto industry, a disaster in the making that could lead to hundreds of thousands if not millions of additional lost jobs. Democratic leaders said they could return to Washington in mid-December to vote on rescue loans if the carmakers first present a plan on transforming and modernizing their operations.

Discouraged by the stalemate over auto aid, investors sent the Dow Jones industrials down to another big loss, 445 points.

As for the jobless benefits, about 1.2 million people would exhaust their unemployment insurance by the end of the year without the extension, sponsors said. The measure is estimated to cost about $5.7 billion, although economists put the positive impact at $1.64 for every dollar spent on jobless benefits because the money helps sustain other jobs and restores consumer confidence.

[2ndDivisionVet]

What does it look like where you're at?

[LibFreeOrDie]

I work for a Fortune 500 high-tech company in the Northeast, which has been making beaucoup bucks for several years. We have been warned of impending layoffs.

[Dallas59]

How many of these layoffs are due to production/services moving out of the States?

[Zuben Elgenubi]

From Ohio, I'd say the bounce is about 7200 DJI. Still a lot of pain to go. This will be one of the best Christmas's ever, as families get together to celebrate the real nature of the holiday.

Circuit City just laid off 8,000 employees so maybe there's a flat screen in my stocking this year. Someone's pain is another's gain. Remember that, FReepers. It's always been that way.

[2ndDivisionVet]

"How many of these layoffs are due to production/services moving out of the States?"

If you knew HUGE tax increases were coming after January, wouldn't you go offshore?

[ari-freedom]

you’d think they’d try to create jobs instead of keep people unemployed

[Dallas59]

I’m packing my bags now....

[2ndDivisionVet]

"Someone's pain is another's gain. Remember that, FReepers. It's always been that way."

Exactly! Look at gas prices: They're at about $1.75/gallon here. Wal-Mart stock is up, gun dealers are doing a land office business, pawn shops are making big money, reverse mortgages are big, home prices are WAY DOWN and if you do anything related to bankruptcy, you're thriving!

[MrB]

Well, see, that’s where you’re examining policy from your own slanted conservative viewpoint. For some reason you think that people being productively employed, earning their own living, accumulating wealth, and increasing their lifestyle is how we should judge the success of any policy.

However, that is where you are wrong. The main end goal of leftist policy is to have as many poor people as possible under the control of the fewest powerful people as possible. And that’s where extending unemployment benefits is a huge success.

[ETL]

I'd say the bounce is about 7200 DJI. Still a lot of pain to go.

Check out this 2-year stock chart:

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=^DJI#chart4:symbol=^dji;range=2y;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

[Zuben Elgenubi]

We are on our way. But with that chart, maybe it’s more like 6800. I got in many years ago at 1100 and change (I believe the Nixon admin). So it’s been a grand ride for me and I’m not panicking. I’m actually up from last year. You gots to know when to fold em.

[LibFreeOrDie]

New England Could Lose 250,000 Jobs, Forecast Says

http://wbztv.com/local/massachusetts.unemployment.rates.2.869611.html

[aimhigh]

In a state with 6.5% unemployment, here's what an unemployed person with good timing can expect:

26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits
20 weeks of federal Tier 1 emergency benefits
13 weeks of federal Tier 2 emergency benefits
13 weeks of federal state extended benefits.
Total - 72 weeks!

[Dianna]

"Putting money in the hands of unemployed families means they will be able to pay their rent and utility bills, buy groceries and clothe their children," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said after the voice vote in the Senate. "It is money that will create economic growth in America."

This creates economic growth? Really?

[reformedliberal]

This must be what they meant by “Everyone knows that economies grow from the bottom up.”

[<1/1,000,000th%]

We’ve been laying off workers for years.

It’s cheaper for us to make subassemblies in South America, ship them to Europe for processing, then ship them to the US for final packaging, than it is to make products here.

Way too many taxes here.