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"That said, it seems to me that if we quit extending the unemployment benefits, there are some percentage of workers who would get off their asses and go back to work."

What do you do for a living tough guy?

What I do now is irrelevant smart mouth guy. Save your bleeding heart crap for someone who cares.

In the past when I've lost a job, I got another. If there was no opening in my last field, I found another field. If there were no opening in the geographic area, I found another area.

My comment was not addressed to ALL the unemployed, but to SOME PERCENTAGE of the unemployed.

In my life, I have known construction workers in the northern states who considered unemployment insurance to be their vacation fund. When it became to cold to work and they were layed off, they were happy to lay on their asses until spring and collect checks, go hunting, fishing, etc.

I also knew some who decided they would rather have a year round job and moved south.

We had a guy here in our office who was layed off in early September. He had grown into a position where he managed a MS Access database. He outgrew his job. He is now competing for jobs with certified professionals, but is happy to keep being turned down so long as he gets a check. He could start work tomorrow in his old job of restaurant work, or he could sell cars or take any one of the hundreds of jobs on the market. So long as he gets a check, he's not motivated.

I think Bush has the right idea, offering $3000 to chronic unemployed to get them to move out of depressed areas and into areas where there are plenty of jobs.

FWIW, some of my career choices have included, digging ditches, wheelbarrowing concrete, carpenter's helper, 76Y30, auto parts guy, parts manager, parts sales, heavy equipment sales, car sales, home improvement sales, auto glass sales, micro-computer sales, computer store manager, computer consultant, IT Manager. And yes, I've drawn a few unemployment checks, but never more than six weeks.

I've also moved from NE Pennsylvania to Denver, to Casper, to Colorado Springs and to Raleigh, NC to get or keep a job.

Am I a tough guy? I don't know, but I am a guy who's had a job and provided for my family most of my life and I never went bleating for a handout. What are you made of?