Posted on 07/20/2010 12:57:14 PM PDT by JohnRLott
The extension of unemployment insurance benefits is expected to pass the Senate today. Despite President Obama's attack on Republicans for delaying the bill, it could easily have passed a month ago if Democrats hadn't added so many other unrelated radical measures to it -- from higher taxes to changes in the Medicare reimbursement formula.
The bill President Obama has been hammering Republicans over in the last couple of days has been puzzling since he already knew that he had enough Republican votes to overcome any filibuster and pass the extended benefits.
The problem, though, isn't that there is insufficient Republican support to pass it. The problem is that the bill will ultimately increase long term unemployment and it will reduce our GDP.
Ironically, if some of Obama's attacks are correct, Republicans can only be accused of trying to help Obama's presidency.
Suppose, as the president said on Monday, that Republicans really believe "that emergency relief somehow discourages people from looking for a job." If that were true, those Republicans who are opposing the added extension of benefits would believe that defeating it would lower the unemployment rate.
Wouldn't a lower unemployment rate before the November elections help the Democrats? Isn't that a sign of true bipartisanship? . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Obama is admitting that looking for a job is hopeless in this economy. Make that HIS economy.
“Our Unemployment Insurance Addiction”
It’s the gateway to entitlements for the newly impoverished, aka Hope and Change.
Extending unemployment benefits amounts to another tax increase for employers. No one mentions this.
I don’t understand why they don’t give the money to businesses
to hire people? Could also be done indirectly via employment
agencies, for folks hired as temps. The unemployment dollars could be used to subsidize the cost of hiring.
Bipartisanship is the poison to efficient responsible government; effective differences of opinion is the only way to derail a two party system of criminals who, in order to "get along" pass abominations, lie this one:
"...the bill, it could easily have passed a month ago if Democrats hadn't added so many other unrelated radical measures to it -- from higher taxes to changes in the Medicare reimbursement formula."
I sure miss the two-party system!
I think all the stimulus money should have been given to individuals. After all, that's where it all came from and it would have really stimulated the economy and helped a lot of people avoid a lot of pain.
“I don’t understand why they don’t give the money to businesses to hire people?”
Because dependence on government translates into political power for the Democrats. They have lost sight of everything else.
Businesses don’t hire people unless they need them. Partial government subsidies don’t make them more attractive. It reminds me of one of Obama’s other hare-brained schemes of giving employers tax breaks for each new employee they hired.
Might I mention that 2,500,000 have just been given an object lesson in Republican hypocrisy? For 70 years, Republicans and Democrats have traded pork barrel spending and bribes back and forth, with solemn declarations of "My Good Friend..." and "I am proud to..."
Does anyone think that 2.5 million people, AND THEIR FAMILIES, are going watch their houses, and everything they own vanish, and not bear some small memory of who VOTED AGAINST IT? All you smug "just get a lower paying job..." droolers, and koolaide drinkers who are only one check away from following the rest into the Abyss can ponder it.
I hate Dims with Twelve Purple Polish Passions, but I've suddenly developed a foul taste for all of you short sighted fools who blandly claim that a 60 year old with heart trouble should just start mowing lawns, or working on a loading dock.
Vacation, my Rosey Red Member...
All part of their plan.
The word “Bi-Partisan” means that some larger-than-usual deception is being carried out. - George Carlin
Jimmy Carter proposed that too.
I swear I’m reliving the 1970’s...
While this money cannot help reduce unemployment and can only slow the recovery ;letting it expire will not have a noticeable positive effect in the short term. There is no way to measure the effect so politically there is no short term benefit to letting it expire, only a drawback. In the long term Obama gets the blame we assume.
Now let's go to Democrats so called economic theory : That “ Unemployment compensation creates jobs because the money is spent immediately creating the needed demand for new workers” . Given that politically convenient theory Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to hurt the recovery by blocking this key ‘jobs’ bill. (The Democrat jobs bill is paying people to not get a job.)
Democrats plans, keeping the country unemployed works much better if you have a Republican President to blame. Oh, do they miss Bush ever.
Only for people with tendencies in that direction.
For the responsible ones, check out the penalties in California for accepting part-time or temporary work...
Just saying...
Timing is everything. Get the unemployment benefits extended beyond the November midterms and deal with it again during the lame duck session. Obama would rather continue the payments than have voters even angrier that they have no jobs.
I’m not against UI after the government blows up the economy. I hate that they blew all sorts of money on Fannie and Freddie, AIG, and all Dims political cronies when there are plenty of folks who have worked all their lives and now cannot find work. What I would rather see is constitutional order restored and the income tax repealed so we can all get back to work and not need UI extensions.
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