Posted on 12/15/2011 9:36:07 AM PST by COBOL2Java
A crowd of about 50 unemployed D.C. residents swarmed House Speaker John Boehner's Capitol Hill home Wednesday night. (WTOP Photo/Alicia Lozano)
WASHINGTON -- "Jingle bells, Congress smells, Republicans laid an egg," sang a group of otherwise jubilant carolers outside House Speaker John Boehner's Capitol Hill home Wednesday night.
The crowd of about 50 unemployed D.C. residents swarmed the quiet residential street, candles and lyrics in hand.
"Oh what fun it would be if the sick could afford their meds," they bellowed.
They also carried holiday themed signs that read "Boehner stole Christmas," "Boehner - jobs of Christmas present" and "Scrooge Boehner, we need jobs."
Despite a jovial mood, the protest -- organized by Our DC -- had a very serious message for the Ohio representative: Keep unemployment benefits.
"D.C. residents need jobless benefits extended with no strings attached," Our DC said in a news release. "Working residents need to keep payroll taxes in our pockets."
The unemployment extension bill sponsored by Boehner will eliminate benefits for nearly 15,000 District residents, they say.
In states with high or rising unemployment, the ceiling on federal and state benefits combined is now 99 weeks. The Republican-led House has passed a bill that extends the coverage but gradually reduces it by 20 weeks by mid-2012.
An improving job market could reduce eligibility for extended benefits by another 20 weeks in some of those states, making the new effective ceiling 59 weeks.
Conservatives argue that prolonging government assistance to the unemployed can discourage active job searching so long as it lasts, keeping jobless rates higher than they would be if aid were ended.
Supporters of a full new extension argue that these are unusually dire times and that jobs are harder to find than after run-of-the-mill recessions. Therefore, additional aid is warranted and can contribute directly to economic growth, they say.
"I've been out of work since October," said Dominique Lawrence, a resident of Ward 8. "This Christmas I won't be able to give my kids the presents they deserve and it just kills me."
I need to study the Constitution more. I completely missed the clause that said the Federal Government is responsible for making sure that kids get all the Christmas presents they "deserve".
Looks like a bunch of SEIU goons to me.
Dashing through the snow
In a flaming Chevrolet
Obama’s playing golf
Laughing all the way! Ho! Ho! Ho!
If these people were smart, they’d polish their singing abilities, make better signs, get cleaned up and get a bunch of gigs making money around DC at all the liberal holiday parties.
I expect it would be too much for them to figure that out. Hell, they don’t WANT to work. Too much effort.
Let’s see:
- Protesting only the Speaker.
- Mostly Canadian.
- Completely ignoring the guy that was president for 3 years.
Yeah, looks like a totally genuine protest to me...
My mom got corn husk dolls and some fruit for Christmas as a kid.
These morons want to shower Xboxes and iPads on their kids because they “deserve” it?
Maybe if mom kept here pants on and stopped making kids, she could afford Christmas for the ones she has.
Commerce clause don't cha know.
Presents = buying stuff.
Buying stuff = commerce.
Commerce = fed control. Q.E.D.
Now get back to work and pay your taxes so these people can get their presents.
It’s always someone else’s fault with Holder’s people; from the ghetto to the White House.
Why do I suspect most of them were jobless even when unemployment was 5%?
If you can’t find a job in DC, the land of the ever-present, ever-growing bureaucracy, at some point, won’t you begin to say “Um, maybe it’s ME?”
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