Posted on 12/28/2013 5:51:29 AM PST by reaganaut1
WASHINGTON — An emergency federal program that acts as a lifeline for 1.3 million jobless workers will end on Saturday, drastically curtailing government support for the long-term unemployed and setting the stage for a major political fight in the new year.
The program, in place since the recession started in 2008, provides up to 47 weeks of supplemental unemployment insurance payments to jobless people looking for work. Its expiration is expected to have far-reaching ramifications for the economy, cutting job growth by about 300,000 positions next year and pushing hundreds of thousands of households below the poverty line.
An extension of the unemployment program did not make it into the two-year budget deal that was passed just before Congress left on its winter recess. When the federal program expires, just one in four unemployed Americans will receive jobless benefits — the smallest proportion in half a century.
...
Republican aides said they remained willing to negotiate. “Why didn’t they offer a plan that met the speaker’s requirements — fiscally responsible, with something to create jobs — or any plan, for that matter, before they left for the holidays?” asked Michael Steel, a spokesman for John A. Boehner of Ohio, the speaker of the House.
Some Democrats have suggested that continuing the program for three months, with the estimated $6 billion in spending offsets coming from agricultural subsidies in the farm bill.
But some conservatives have shown stauncher opposition.
“I do support unemployment benefits for the 26 weeks that they’re paid for,” said Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky on Fox News. “If you extend it beyond that, you do a disservice to these workers. When you allow people to be on unemployment insurance for 99 weeks, you’re causing them to become part of this perpetual unemployed group in our economy.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
” Assisting those trying to find a new job is also the right thing to do.”
Yes, commissar. Will you be sending offenders to the gulag this week?
Only a Pelosi liberal could argue that cutting unemployment benefits will cost 300,000 jobs!
D’OH!
Friends of ours are working in the oil field of ND. The wife, smaller kids are 'back east' ..... the dad and oldest son are 'out west'. Housing is in such shortage, that they are renting (& sharing) a bedroom in a private residence for $600/month ... EACH. They consider themselves lucky to have a 'place'.
“For some jobs, there have been several hundred applicants and more per opening. Watch the JOLT report for an aggregate number. Saying “just move” sounds nice, but moving cross country costs many thousands of dollars and is not good advice in a piss poor job market. Who is to say the new job they land out there will not simply evaporate? Then all that money spent moving is for not.”
Weekly benefits run from ~$133/wk in Puerto Rico to over $600 in several states. That money is pouring out of the treasury. At some point, (29 weeks? 99 weeks?) you have to stop and say, enough. Where should the line be drawn?
Should nothing be required in return for this largess? I might be more supportive if there was some sort of requirement from the recipients in return. Mop floors or cut grass or pick up trash. Maybe not for the first few weeks which was paid by insurance but for perpetually extended handouts?
Exactly, try and sell your house in this market if you still have one.
I can also blame it on a current government that meddles far too much in our everyday lives and is largely responsible for the horrible economic conditions out there. They are also working to prolong them at every turn.
“Why didn’t the Speaker preempt them by offering one of his own?”
Because Boehner was too busy railing at conservatives and caving to the Democrats.
That will be another million who drop out of the work force, thereby, making the unemployment number go down to 6.0%.
How do cutting long term UE benefits which basically is paying people not to work equal to the NYSlims “cutting long term job growth”? I think you have to drink some kool-aid for that to make sense.
Exactly right.
Back around 2005 I knew a guy who lost his job with a company here in the Detroit area. He then went to work for a contractor that ultimately sent him to North Carolina where he had to rent an apartment for about 6 months and drive home to see the wife whenever he could.
Since he had to spend money on the apartment, he and his wife had to sell their home and move to a lower scale house in Warren.
So after about 6 to 8 months in NC, his contracting job was coming to an end and the company they were contracting with offered him a job. He and his wife talked it over and ultimately he turned it down and came home to Detroit. It was a good thing he did because 4 months later that company took a turn for the worse and was forced to lay off half of its engineering workforce.
Jobs were hard to find (still are) and he worked at Best Buy for a while until he found work with another contractor that sent him to Germany. After a few months away from home, he finally couldn't take the separation and had to quit.
At 58 years old, the reality is there aren't many employers willing to hire you and like you said, to sell your house, pack up and move to another state in the HOPES of finding permanent work is not a viable financial option.
While I understand what you are saying, Mexicans actually leave their country for less.
Sitting around for two years on unemployment and not really giving a rip about finding a job lulls one into a state of torpor. “I’ll look for something tomorrow’’. There are jobs out there. They may not be corporate level but you won’t starve. Heck, I’m working two jobs right now. Nothing wrong with work if it’s honest. Pride be damned.
Veterans benefits are earned benefits.
Thanks for saying that. It’s not only expensive to “just move” but it takes people away from friends, family, etc. (which to some may not be a big deal, but is very important to other)
How about we cut regulations and curtail lawyers before we start putting pressure on working folk.
In Southern California, the jobs are taken by the largest demographic group, Hispanics. This is the unintended consequence of 99 weeks; the long-term unemployed find that jobs they might have considered taking to survive are quickly taken by the influx of undocumented workers.
It seems otherworldly for Los Angelenos to see lawn maintenance being performed by English as a first language Americans in places like Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, etc.
Does this mean that the unemployment rate will drop drastically in the next few weeks?
The umemplyment rate will go up because the workforce utilization rate will be crushed by more Americans seeking work.
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