The Senate gave final approval Wednesday evening to legislation providing added unemployment benefits through November to millions of Americans who have been out of work for six months or more, ending a politically charged fight.
The Senate gave final approval Wednesday evening to legislation providing added unemployment benefits through November to millions of Americans who have been out of work for six months or more, ending a politically charged fight.
November? How convenient. When unemployment benefits end, millions will officially re-enter the job market and the official number of unemployed will soar. Democrats can’t have that happen before the November elections.
Using the “follow the money (and election results)” method, Fradgan is absolutely correct. Ending unemployment benefits would have dumped millions back into the work force, pushing up the unemployment rate running into November. From my understanding of how the number is calculated, reporting of household survey results is where the folks without unemployment benefits would be showing up. This is just a temporary papering over of a massive structural unemployment issue and adds yet more to our national debt. Bad times ahead, indeed! Wonder what the Democrats are going to do when the economy loses steam and we enter another recession, as many are predicting, sometime later in 2011? Maybe we can reenact the Roosevelt era tax on cash reserves to pry money out of companies that are holding on to it because they have no idea what the current regime is going to do next and don’t want to get caught on the short end of some new ukase from an Obama czar that takes away more of their profits.
I don’t understand either of the above comments. People getting unemployment benefits *already* are counted in the unemployment numbers. They’re already in the job market looking for jobs. That’s a requirement of getting benefits.
From the [url=http://www.investors.com/EditorialCartoons/Cartoon.aspx?id=541013]Michael Ramirez[/url] cartoon of 7/20/10: “Congress needs to extend unemployment insurance beyond two years because no business owner in their right mind will hire anyone until I’m gone.”
Scott K, that and 5 cents will get you a cup of joe. Naivete thou hast met thy match and or’er come been.