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Obama Considers Major Expansion in Jobless Aid
New York Times ^ | January 3, 2009 | Jackie Calmes

Posted on 01/04/2009 6:46:52 AM PST by reaganaut1

CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats are considering major expansions of government-assisted health care insurance and unemployment compensation as they begin intensive work this week on a two-year economic recovery package.

One proposal, as described by Democratic advisers, would extend unemployment compensation to part-time workers, an idea that Congressional Republicans have blocked in the past.

Other policy changes would subsidize employers’ expenses for temporarily continuing health insurance coverage to laid-off and retired workers and their dependents, as mandated under a 22-year-old federal law known as Cobra, and allow workers who lose jobs that did not come with insurance benefits to be eligible, for the first time, to apply for Medicaid coverage.

The proposals indicate the sorts of potentially long-range changes that Mr. Obama intends to push in his promised American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, as he named it in his weekly Saturday address on the radio and YouTube. They will be combined with one-time measures that are more typical of federal stimulus packages to jump-start a weak economy, like spending for roads and other job-creating public works projects.

As the economy worsened in the weeks after Mr. Obama’s election, advisers and Congressional leaders suggested that a stimulus plan would be ready by the new year for House votes this week. But the House is not expected to vote until next week at the earliest, which will most likely push final action into February, Democratic aides said.

The aides said delays were probably inevitable given the holiday interruptions, the big ambitions of the undertaking and internal tensions over the plan’s components and their costs.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 111th; agenda; bho2008; bhoeconomy; healthinsurance; joblessbenefits; medicaid; obama; obamatransitionfile; unemployment
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To: reaganaut1

It’s the beginning spoonfuls of universal health care. You get them to swallow the idea by working on people’s emotions, much the same as he used emotions to win the election.

And yes, why bother to work anymore? I know of a gal who makes $12/hour, single mother, qualified for a $150K house and has money to spare. She gets free day care and all kinds of subsidies. She qualified for four years of free college (while a certain college student I know works 2 jobs to help pay for his college and even with that will leave with a huge debt) and declined because why go through all that trouble when she can get things for free?

“Other policy changes would subsidize employers’ expenses for temporarily continuing health insurance coverage to laid-off and retired workers and their dependents, as mandated under a 22-year-old federal law known as Cobra”

If you’re worried about the people, wouldn’t it make more sense to help the employEES? Workers at my company who’ve left have reported the COBRA cost is way out of reach.


21 posted on 01/04/2009 8:01:09 AM PST by JavaJumpy
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To: Southsider
“You think we should eliminate the entire program?”

No, but I would do away with the temporary layoff nonsense that gets used as vacations.

I would also limit the time you could draw it to about 12 weeks.

22 posted on 01/04/2009 8:07:59 AM PST by Beagle8U (FreeRepublic -- One stop shopping ....... Its the Conservative Super WalMart for news .)
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To: Man50D; rovenstinez

Socialists, in all their wisdom and compassion, always neglect to consider the human nature when conjuring up their utopian ideas.


23 posted on 01/04/2009 8:18:00 AM PST by KoRn
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To: KoRn
I have several friends who work up the north slope; were employed by oil exploration company. When prices fell, they were laid off, entire company shut down operations over economic conditions. Now these guys are repubs, been making calls all over Montana, Wyoming, trying to get on for work, no work; they ain't bums either. You guys are fools to think they are too.

These are good conservative thinking guys; rather be working like everybody would. I hope Obama does extend benefits, maybe you would too if you were in their shoes; you might be someday the way things are going. Unemployment is only bad when your the guy laid off.

24 posted on 01/04/2009 8:22:42 AM PST by Eska
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To: Eska
"You guys are fools to think they are too."

I never said anything of the sort. I'm sure there are exceptions, but it's a simple fact that the longer people get paid while not working, the longer it tends to be before they get back to working again. I have no problem with there being a safety net there for people that lose a job by no fault of their own, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere.

PS: You shouldn't put words into people's mouths. It makes you lose creditability. Especially on here, where it's so easy to look back and see what others have said.

25 posted on 01/04/2009 8:30:40 AM PST by KoRn
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To: reaganaut1

No workers pay into the unemployment system - only the employer pays, so including part-time workers within the unemployment benefit system would be a new tax on small and big employers and a nightmare to administer at the state level.

Obama nightmare is about to happen!


26 posted on 01/04/2009 8:33:00 AM PST by unique
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To: reaganaut1
Obama Considers Major Expansion in Jobless Aid Joblessness.

Fixed their typo.

27 posted on 01/04/2009 8:39:15 AM PST by rawcatslyentist (Proud non productive worker under directive 10-289)
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To: Carley
Paying people to stay home. Exactly what brought down the auto companies. He wants to bring that success to all of America.

It's been a long time coming and we have no one to blame but our own politicians -- and ourselves for not holding their feet to the fire. The project of turning America into a Socialist/Communist state was begun in the 1930s and accelerated in the 1960s.

Roosevelt-Kennedy-Johnson-Nixon created the foundations for a socialist welfare state and New World Order. Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Frank, Dodd, and company are merely adding the totalitarian bells and whistles.

28 posted on 01/04/2009 11:35:35 AM PST by Bernard Marx
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To: reaganaut1
Do part-time workers or their employers currently pay in to the unemployment insurance system?

Unemployment taxes are paid by employers, except in a few states. One argument is that taxes paid for part-timers, who can't receive benefits have been subsidizing unemployment insurance for full timers who can.

This is being promoted by the National Employment Law Project, a George Soros funded entity. Every liberal bill proposed in the last 6 years will be thrown into this Obamination recovery bill.

29 posted on 01/04/2009 2:37:07 PM PST by aimhigh
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To: unique
so including part-time workers within the unemployment benefit system would be a new tax on small and big employers and a nightmare to administer at the state level.

Taxes are already being paid by employers on part-time workers. It will be a nightmare to administer. Unemployment agencies across the country can't handle the current load. California is getting 2 million call attempts per day.

30 posted on 01/04/2009 2:44:04 PM PST by aimhigh
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To: aimhigh
Taxes are already being paid by employers on part-time workers. It will be a nightmare to administer. Unemployment agencies across the country can't handle the current load.

Taxes paid by employers are largely passed on to workers in the form of lower wages. If employers are paying in to the unemployment compensation fund on behalf of part-time workers, those workers should be eligible for benefits. Maybe it would be better to scrap both employer contributions and unemployment benefits for part-time workers.

31 posted on 01/04/2009 3:44:37 PM PST by reaganaut1
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To: Eska

Me too. Work 25 years and it’s looking like I’ll get laid off at 50 so the company can have a bigger profit margin than it already has. Never took any leave except approved vacation. Been paying into the system for years. I give up. I’ll take the extended vacation. Perhap something good will come out of it. Maybe after of few years of paying for this, people will finally wake up.


32 posted on 01/05/2009 4:10:58 PM PST by virgil
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To: virgil
Hope the best for ya, Been there myself many years back when I worked at a steel mill in the Burgh; I actually used my GI bill to get a 2 year degree and never had a prob finding employment. I then went back at 45 and completed a teaching degree; my wife has taught her entire life. No piece of cake but jobs a plenty and actually keeps one young.

I guess I get somewhat turned off when too many freepers see only part of the picture; the side that fits their ultra conservative dreams of how we can go back to the day of no taxes or social structure in America. I just don't see that occurring, and have friends who have lost their jobs as of late;; republican friends.

No offence KORN, I was meaning several of the people who posted.

33 posted on 01/05/2009 8:59:37 PM PST by Eska
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