A person who was unemployed as of 4th quarter 2001 would have been qualified for an initial 26 weeks of unemployment benefits followed by an extension of 13 weeks the latest extension is I believe another 13 weeks but these benefits would be sharply reduced by having the new benfits in a new qualification year most likely with little or no wages.
What people need are jobs.
The way to get employment going again is to cut taxes now.
The fastest and easiest tax cut to administer would be a moratorium on the SS tax for the remainder of the year. You could set the date of implementation at 7/1/03, so that all the payroll administrators could make the change to their payroll programs.
Don't know what the exact hit would be on the SS 'Trust Fund', but employees and employers would each see an immediate 6.2% bump to their bottom lines. IOW, that's an extra $30 a week to someone grossing $500. Or to a small company with a weekly payroll of $25,000, that's an immediate tax break of $1500. Do that for 26 weeks, and you've got some serious money going back into the economy.
Speaking of the 'Trust Fund', we're taking a trip to DC this summer for our vacation, and I want to show my kids where the Trust Fund & Lockbox are located. Anybody know the address?
For those who think I'm serious: (/sarcasm).