Posted on 09/01/2011 6:12:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
There are two Americas. In one America, working stiffs wonder whether it makes sense for the government to pay unemployment benefits for 99 weeks. In this America, folks have a lot of sympathy for those who are out of work through no fault of their own, but they also fear that when government writes unemployment checks for almost two years, that's an incentive not to get a job.
In another America, there is strong support for President Barack Obama's call for another extension of jobless benefits to 99 weeks. Like Obama, these Americans believe that unemployment benefits stimulate the economy. Some want to extend benefits further. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., has introduced a measure to add another 14 weeks on top of 99 weeks.
These two Americas are about to collide.
The president has called for another extension of benefits. He is expected to bring up the issue next week as part of his jobs package. Since 2009, Obama has been successful in pushing for a 99-week extension, which has been reauthorized five times -- most recently as part of the 2010 tax deal that extended all of the Bush tax cuts. But last month's debt ceiling package did not include an unemployment extension. The 99-week benefit is set to expire in January.
Now, with the August debt ceiling deal, at the very least, Republicans have to demand spending cuts to pay for the $56 billion tab for an extension. Moreover, they have to ask whether paying unemployment benefits for almost two years would be good for the U.S. economy.
Obama didn't help his cause when he picked Alan Krueger to chair his Council of Economic Advisers. Krueger, The Wall Street Journal editorialized, has written about unemployment insurance's tendency to extend how long recipients remain unemployed.
Labor economist James Sherk of the right-leaning Heritage Foundation argues that Congress should shorten unemployment benefits and pay for the rest of the freight with spending cuts. "You want more than six months" because it's a tough job market, Sherk told me. But after people have been out of work for two years, he noted, they are less attractive to employers.
Democrats counter that unemployment benefits stimulate the economy. In a statement in favor of her 113-week plan, Lee argued, "Not only do jobless workers need assistance for food and shelter month to month, but unemployed workers immediately spend the assistance they receive, which stimulates the economy."
"Jobless workers." That's a new one.
No surprise, there now are organizations for people who have exhausted all 99 weeks of unemployment benefits -- such as the American 99ers Union and Advocacy for the Long-Term Unemployed. I have a lot of sympathy for the unemployed, but when I read the 99er rhetoric in favor of the 113-week plan, I can't help but wish these folks would focus more on getting a job than turning unemployment into a career.
Another caveat: Because employers pay for unemployment benefits, extended benefits hinder job creation. "It's not like a flaming stake to the heart of the economy," Sherk observed, "but on the margins, higher (unemployment insurance) taxes discourage employers from hiring."
As Sherk noted, it's a tough job market out there; 44 percent of the unemployed have been out of work for more than six months. So the question is this: Is Washington doing these folks a favor by giving the jobless an incentive to remain "jobless workers"?
There are two Americas. In more ways than one. A majority of the employed these days are working for some Democratically influenced company.
Many of the affluent without jobs worked for Republican influenced concerns. Now there is a litmus test—do you support the administration? If so, move ahead. If not, get off the train.
Then the employed say ugly things to the unemployed who have perhaps applied for job after job only to hear nothing, like “get a job” or “you are a puke”.
taking money out of the economy and giving it to the unemployed is not a boost the economy, just to the unemployed.
Kreuger probably thinks the government should just hand out $50,000 to every American. Wouldn’t that boost the economy?
“Another caveat: Because employers pay for unemployment benefits, extended benefits hinder job creation. “It’s not like a flaming stake to the heart of the economy,” Sherk observed, “but on the margins, higher (unemployment insurance) taxes discourage employers from hiring.””
Boy, did we learn that the hard way when we laid a few people off when downsizing. 2 years of paying UE at the top rate is almost over. No incentive to have ANY employees anymore.
Some people make a living being unemployed...................
As one of the proud members of the ‘working stiffs’ of America, I’d like articles like this to add:
1) ‘working stiffs’ who work 40+hrs yet get paid for 32hrs just so company can stay afloat
2) ‘working stiffs’ who eliminated Health Care coverage just to survive
3) ‘working stiffs’ bosses/owners of small business who are NOW using their personal credit cards to keep small business afloat. (This is actually happening)
4) ‘working stiffs’ who pay cash,use coupons and cut items at a grocery store while another group load up on junk,pay with food stamps,drive their Escalade with Obama 2012 stickers to convenient store and purchase lottery tickets, booze, and smokes.(I regularly see this)
5) ‘working stiffs’ whose vacation consist of a Happy Meal for the kids,a ride to the amusement park parking lot, and telling the kids that maybe next year we can afford to actually enter the park.
6) ‘working stiffs’ who watch in the rear view mirror, a very overweight male chowing down on fast food like it’s his last meal, in a car with a handicapped sign, a state issued parking lot sticker, who pulls into his comfy state job and sneers at you for daring to have an anti-Obama bumper sticker on your vehicle.(this actually happened)
..just a little bitter...
You are so wrong.
Most would rather be employed, but have you tried finding a job lately? they don’t even write you to say no. You just never hear anything.
I don’t understand. Well yes, I do. It’s the old “I’ve got mine, I don’t give a hang about anybody else and I am going to assume they are lazy bums.”
When you look and look and look for a job and nothing happens, you still have to have paper and ink and internet and gas and food to look for a job, or have you never had to go through it?
You didn’t hire them due to incentives, did you? You hired them so you could do more work. Now your amount of work has died down and you can’t justify having them on your rolls. Nobody else has a job for them either. Not your fault, but it is not their fault either.
If the Republicans were smart, they would offer Obama this compromise on extending unemployment benefits...we extended unemployment benefits in exchange for equal $$ amounts of cuts in funding to agencies that enforce job killing regulations such as EPA. But they won’t do it because they don’t have the balls to take on either the dems on job killing regs or the “I’ve got mine jack” types.
The republicans need to score points with both the unemployed and potential employers.
Yes, I went thru ‘it’.
When Jimmy Carter was the Idiot in chief.
Thank God for Ronald Reagan..............
Yeah, and you would be the first one to complain if they did.
You’re right. Not their fault, just a lesson for us. Now, as we grow the reconfigured business, we don’t know if we want to get it too big. Bigger you get, the bigger the bullseye for Obama to aim at.
Know 4 & 6 well enough. I know the bitterness well.
Here is another America.
Older construction workers who have been destroyed by some 40 million illegal. The entire trades are a mess. Older workers could always find jobs in the industry like sales and management.
The globalists could not outsource are jobs so they allowed the USA to be flooded with poor,uneducated socialists in order to bring America down and the rest of the world up
Utopia for the elite
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