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Unemployment Benefits Extended
by G.E. Miller on July 28, 20107 Comments
Unemployment Benefits Extension Signed into Law
Last week President Obama signed an extension of unemployment benefits into law. The measure provides emergency relief to 2.5 million Americans who had recently passed the 26 week mark of unemployment – when most state unemployment benefits expire.
The measure, however, does not provide extended emergency support to those entering their 99th and final week of receiving extended unemployment benefits.
I want to get your take on whether this is a good move for the country. The vote to extend benefits in the Senate was pretty much divided right along party lines. However, I think this issue goes far beyond political party affiliation. Here’s a look at what each side has been saying in this debate:
Extended Unemployment Benefits Supporters Argue…
- Money will be spent immediately by those in need, helping to revive the economy.
- It limits foreclosures from those who don’t have enough income to continue paying their mortgage.
- The average unemployment payment of $309 is not enough to motivate someone to not find a job.
- It’s the humanitarian thing to do.
Extended Unemployment Benefits Detractors Argue…
- The extension de-motivates the unemployed from finding a job.
- We should cut the deficit before we spend more money and this extension shouldn’t add to the deficit.
- 6 months should be plenty of time to find another job.
Unemployment Discussion:
- Did I miss any of the arguments on either side?
- Do you side with your political affiliation on this one? Why or why not?
- Do you think that unemployment benefits should be extended beyond 26 weeks? (take the poll!)
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My name is G.E. Miller and 
I do agree that unemployment should be extended. Even though there are always going to be those people who take advantage of it or don’t use the opportunity wisely.
I do agree with the extension. If the budget needs balancing putting more people on welfare and out of their homes is not the way to do it. Cut one military pet project or audit for waste in the Pentagon to save that much money. There simply are fewer jobs than people, due to the policies of those who now say do nothing for those put out of work.
DISAGREE…unemployment rates are at 9.6% currently (http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=usunemployment&met=unemployment_rate&tdim=true&dl=en&hl=en&q=current+unemployment+rate). Unemployment rates at the start of the economic downturn (2008) was ~5.8% and on the rise(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104719.html). That is a difference of 3.8%, an increase attributed to those affected by the economic downturn. Is it worth extending the benefits of all 9.6% unemployed when only 3.8% will likely take advantage of the extension to actually find a job? Utilitarianism concepts tell me no.
People need to swallow their pride and take pay cuts…plenty of jobs exist…just probably not in the exact field people were previously working in. A job is better than no job…especially when my tax dollars are funding them to sit on their couch and not work.
It’s difficult to be completely unbiased in this debate. I would guess that the majority of folks who have jobs will be against extension and those that don’t will be in favor. With that said, if opinions are worth anything in consideration of selfishness, I tend to think that spending is out of control beyond comprehension, and decisions such as this only further the fiscal abandonment of our government. It’s frustrating to get my Social Security statement, which I’m forced to pay into, and be informed that I’ll likely get some unknown number of cents on the dollar, and see decisions made like this. But I have a job and recognize that if I didn’t, I’d probably be singing a different song. Such is human nature.
I’m glad that the senate passed a benefits extension for those that have been unemployed for less than a year and a half. I’m not going to blather on about my bills, the tax’s I’ve payed and so on. But the congress did not pass a true extension. A true extension would have covered all people who lost their jobs greater than a year and a half ago.
I work in unemployment insurance appeals as a clerk for a couple of administrative law judges. All the claimants I deal with have either lost or left jobs within the last year or so. If the percentage of them I wake up by calling before noon (or, almost as often, whose mothers have to go wake them up to let them know someone’s on the phone) are any indication, $309 is plenty of money to be an incentive not to work. Heck, it’s as much as I make clerking full-time!
I voted no. We can’t afford it. I know people who get it and purposely turn down work to keep getting it. Also they have jobs but get paid cash. I’d like to see a study on the real need for this assistance. I’m relating this because I have first hand knowledge of it.