House Democrats Introduce A Bill To Help “99ers” - Atlantic City Liberal | Examiner.com: "The '99ers' are people who have exhausted the full 99 weeks of unemployment benefits without being able to find work. These are hard-working Americans who had jobs prior to the financial meltdown caused by the rapacious greed of the wealthiest and most powerful in the country. Right now there are roughly five unemployed workers for every available job. That means that for 80% of the unemployed there simply are no jobs available no matter how hard they try.
In the Atlantic City-Hammonton metropolitcan area the '99er' problem is even worse. The unemployment rate in Atlantic City is 11.5%, nearly 2 full points higher than the national unemployment rate of 9.8% The Obama-McConnell tax cut raw deal does nothing for 99ers who have lost their last lifeline, through no fault of their own.
To remedy this unacceptable situation, House Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee (pictured) (Calif.) and Bobby Scott (Va.) introduced legislation Friday that would provide additional assistance to “99ers”, to which I say, about damn time. The legislation would add 14 weeks of benefits to the first “tier” of Emergency Unemployment Compensation, one of two programs that together give the unemployed up to 73 weeks of federally-funded benefits for workers who exhaust 26 weeks of state benefits. The full 73 weeks are available in states with unemployment above 8.5 percent.
With the Republicans about to take over the House in January, the expectation among the political punditry is that this bill will stall indefinitely. The excuse that Republicans give in opposition to helping the 99ers is that they are against more deficit spending, which is really just their excuse to be cold and heartless. Their desire for fiscal restraint certainly did not stop them from joining hands with President Obama to add hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy to the deficit. But on this issue I think the Republicans are playing with fire and will break eventually.
According to Republican Fed Chairmen Ben Bernanke, it will take 4-5 years for the country to reach a normal level of unemployment again, without factoring the possibility of a double-dip. That is a long time to leave millions of suffering voters high and dry. Republicans may not have compassion, but they do have a strong sense of self-preservation. At some point voter anger will reach a tipping point where the Republicans will have to buckle. But maybe I am just being hopeful?
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Monday, December 20, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Rant - Democrats Cave In: No Tier 5 for Unemployment Extension 2010
Rant - Democrats Cave In: No Tier 5 for Unemployment Extension 2010
As they say, a week is a long time in politics and no more so then in the current lame duck session. Less then a week ago, the Democrats in the House of Representatives were in rebellion over the deal made between President Obama and the Republicans.
The most contentious issues of the agreement between the President and the GOP were the extensions of all the Bush era tax cuts for a further 2 years, but only a further 13 months extension for federal emergency unemployment insurance tiers 1 - 4. And a glaring omission was that the subject of a Tier 5 for the long-term unemployed – the 99ers, was not even discussed by those brokering the agreement.
On Wednesday, one of the most vocal Democrats in opposition to the bill, Peter Welch [D,VT], appeared to sum up the Democrats current position on the bill, with him being resigned to the fact that the bill would be passed by the House without any "significant" modification, saying "The die is now cast," and that "any further discussion of changes to the bill are now academic."
So it appears now that the Democrats have rolled over and caved in to the Republicans threats to block any amendments to the bill. By folding so easily, the Democrats have abandoned several million people to fend for themselves, leaving them without any form of assistance or income to tide them over until the nations depressed job market improves. To say that these people feel betrayed and abandoned by the Government is an understatement.
Readers have expressed their dismay, with Martin writing "I can't believe that this country of ours runs to help other countries in need, but is unwilling to help its fellow Americans. These Republicans are fighting because they want tax breaks for the wealthy and super wealthy, who in turn are sending all their jobs and business overseas. This has to be a literal crime against all Americans. I really don't understand why no one is voicing this in the media."
Another reader writes "It is said that the American voter has a short memory, but without relief for millions of 99ers in this package, this nightmare is just beginning. How many will it take before Congress wakes up to the untold suffering that is life without any unemployment benefits and abject poverty? When will the numbers get big enough that even the Republicans can not ignore them? Can they ever get big enough to make a difference?
The feelings of many were summed up by this comment: "There was never a Country as free as the United States of America. When it came into being, no such country had ever existed. People fought for their lives to keep such a freedom alive…Now once again more than ever here we stand again, watching our freedoms begin to disappear one by one. The Rich are becoming richer and more powerful as the Middle Class Begins to disappear and the poor just become poorer. How long will we stand and watch before we take action again, to save our freedoms here in the United States of America!"
As they say, a week is a long time in politics and no more so then in the current lame duck session. Less then a week ago, the Democrats in the House of Representatives were in rebellion over the deal made between President Obama and the Republicans.
The most contentious issues of the agreement between the President and the GOP were the extensions of all the Bush era tax cuts for a further 2 years, but only a further 13 months extension for federal emergency unemployment insurance tiers 1 - 4. And a glaring omission was that the subject of a Tier 5 for the long-term unemployed – the 99ers, was not even discussed by those brokering the agreement.
On Wednesday, one of the most vocal Democrats in opposition to the bill, Peter Welch [D,VT], appeared to sum up the Democrats current position on the bill, with him being resigned to the fact that the bill would be passed by the House without any "significant" modification, saying "The die is now cast," and that "any further discussion of changes to the bill are now academic."
So it appears now that the Democrats have rolled over and caved in to the Republicans threats to block any amendments to the bill. By folding so easily, the Democrats have abandoned several million people to fend for themselves, leaving them without any form of assistance or income to tide them over until the nations depressed job market improves. To say that these people feel betrayed and abandoned by the Government is an understatement.
Readers have expressed their dismay, with Martin writing "I can't believe that this country of ours runs to help other countries in need, but is unwilling to help its fellow Americans. These Republicans are fighting because they want tax breaks for the wealthy and super wealthy, who in turn are sending all their jobs and business overseas. This has to be a literal crime against all Americans. I really don't understand why no one is voicing this in the media."
Another reader writes "It is said that the American voter has a short memory, but without relief for millions of 99ers in this package, this nightmare is just beginning. How many will it take before Congress wakes up to the untold suffering that is life without any unemployment benefits and abject poverty? When will the numbers get big enough that even the Republicans can not ignore them? Can they ever get big enough to make a difference?
The feelings of many were summed up by this comment: "There was never a Country as free as the United States of America. When it came into being, no such country had ever existed. People fought for their lives to keep such a freedom alive…Now once again more than ever here we stand again, watching our freedoms begin to disappear one by one. The Rich are becoming richer and more powerful as the Middle Class Begins to disappear and the poor just become poorer. How long will we stand and watch before we take action again, to save our freedoms here in the United States of America!"
Monday, December 13, 2010
Long-term unemployment is worrying - Dec. 13, 2010
Long-term unemployment is worrying - Dec. 13, 2010: "FORTUNE -- What happens to a nation's collective psyche when millions of once-productive people remain out of work for months or even years? What happens when unemployed husbands resign themselves to relying on a wife's income, when unemployed wives feel trapped at home, when twenty- and thirtysomethings calculate that they'd rather live off their parents than face a cut-throat job market, when middle-aged men and women stop searching for jobs after realizing they're hopelessly lost in a haze of rapid-fire technological change?
The pre-holiday bickering over tax cuts and extending unemployment benefits is drowning out a December government number so frightening it should concentrate the minds of every posturing political leader in Washington: 9.8% unemployment. That is staggering, up from when the recession ended 18 months ago, and comes despite signs of recovery in retail, real estate, and corporate profits.
Especially troubling is that long-term unemployment continues to mount. 'It is unprecedented in post--World War II U.S. history to have 3% of the labor force unemployed for over a year,' Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said in a recent speech. 'If history is any guide, this year-plus unemployment rate will only revert to pre-recession levels after several years.'
Add to that mix this perplexing fact: While there aren't nearly enough jobs, there are more of them -- a lot more. Since the month after the recession ended, the number of available jobs has surged 44%, according to the Labor Department. Job vacancies are nowhere near pre-recession levels (according to the Conference Board, there are still 10.4 million more unemployed workers than advertised vacancies). Still, there are as many as three million jobs going unfilled.
Various economists have posited various reasons for this mismatch:
* Employers, still reeling from all the downsizing they've had to do, are pickier about whom they hire and slower to close the deal.
* Jobless workers, especially those out of work for months and years, don't have the skills to multitask in a fast-paced economy where medical workers need to know electronic record-keeping, machinists need computer skills, and marketing managers can no longer delegate software duties.
* Workers, some of whom feel cushioned by unemployment benefits, are too picky to take lower-paying or less prestigious jobs.
* There is a geographic divide between where the jobless are -- states like Florida, Nevada, and Michigan -- and where the jobs are -- states like Maryland, South Dakota, and Iowa. Relocation is especially hard if your mortgage is under water.
The cost of not working
Whatever the right mix of reasons, the fallout is crippling. Economically, long-term joblessness means fewer dollars for consumption. For deficit control, it means fewer taxpayers contributing to government revenues and tens of billions more spent on unemployment insurance. Then there is the psychological toll on individuals and families -- and on the nation.
Early on in the recession, popular culture seized on the romantic notion of tightening our belts and looking inward to frills-free fun with our friends and families, after a decade of borrowed hyperconsumption. Now we need to ask a less romantic question: What happens when millions of Americans lose the habit of work, a habit that lends balance, structure, dignity -- and, of course, economic support -- to lives?
The longer people are unemployed the less employable they become. Skills become rusty; managers look more suspiciously at someone who has been out of work for years than a candidate already employed. I remember an old conservative saying: Graduate from high school; get a job -- any job; get married -- stay married; and (statistically speaking) your chances of landing in poverty are practically nil.
Even if that was once true, that calculation has lost some relevancy in this far more complex economy. But the concept of getting people back on the ladder, even if it's on a lower rung, is a worthy one.
Hopefully, Congress will pass a tax bill that gives business enough certainty and financial incentive to create more jobs. Hopefully, economic growth will begin to put a dent in that loss of 8 million jobs since the recession hit.
But an even knottier problem facing the nation's political leadership, from the President on down, is how to get the long-term unemployed into jobs as they become available. To avoid becoming chronically unemployed, people need more than platitudes offering sympathy. Career reinvention requires encouragement and guidance. Business leaders have specifics to offer on what jobs will be coming down the pike in expanding sectors like health care, and what skills are needed. They should to be brought into the political dialogue.
President Obama opened the conversation this fall with an industry-led initiative to better match community college graduates with skilled jobs. He followed with a Dec. 6 speech calling for a 'Sputnik moment' to restart American innovation to create jobs and compete in the world.
But as he assembles a largely new economic team, the President face a more immediate challenge: the need for a 'Manhattan Project' to get the long-term jobless back to work, something that would boost the psyche of both the unemployed and the nation
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
The pre-holiday bickering over tax cuts and extending unemployment benefits is drowning out a December government number so frightening it should concentrate the minds of every posturing political leader in Washington: 9.8% unemployment. That is staggering, up from when the recession ended 18 months ago, and comes despite signs of recovery in retail, real estate, and corporate profits.
Especially troubling is that long-term unemployment continues to mount. 'It is unprecedented in post--World War II U.S. history to have 3% of the labor force unemployed for over a year,' Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said in a recent speech. 'If history is any guide, this year-plus unemployment rate will only revert to pre-recession levels after several years.'
Add to that mix this perplexing fact: While there aren't nearly enough jobs, there are more of them -- a lot more. Since the month after the recession ended, the number of available jobs has surged 44%, according to the Labor Department. Job vacancies are nowhere near pre-recession levels (according to the Conference Board, there are still 10.4 million more unemployed workers than advertised vacancies). Still, there are as many as three million jobs going unfilled.
Various economists have posited various reasons for this mismatch:
* Employers, still reeling from all the downsizing they've had to do, are pickier about whom they hire and slower to close the deal.
* Jobless workers, especially those out of work for months and years, don't have the skills to multitask in a fast-paced economy where medical workers need to know electronic record-keeping, machinists need computer skills, and marketing managers can no longer delegate software duties.
* Workers, some of whom feel cushioned by unemployment benefits, are too picky to take lower-paying or less prestigious jobs.
* There is a geographic divide between where the jobless are -- states like Florida, Nevada, and Michigan -- and where the jobs are -- states like Maryland, South Dakota, and Iowa. Relocation is especially hard if your mortgage is under water.
The cost of not working
Whatever the right mix of reasons, the fallout is crippling. Economically, long-term joblessness means fewer dollars for consumption. For deficit control, it means fewer taxpayers contributing to government revenues and tens of billions more spent on unemployment insurance. Then there is the psychological toll on individuals and families -- and on the nation.
Early on in the recession, popular culture seized on the romantic notion of tightening our belts and looking inward to frills-free fun with our friends and families, after a decade of borrowed hyperconsumption. Now we need to ask a less romantic question: What happens when millions of Americans lose the habit of work, a habit that lends balance, structure, dignity -- and, of course, economic support -- to lives?
The longer people are unemployed the less employable they become. Skills become rusty; managers look more suspiciously at someone who has been out of work for years than a candidate already employed. I remember an old conservative saying: Graduate from high school; get a job -- any job; get married -- stay married; and (statistically speaking) your chances of landing in poverty are practically nil.
Even if that was once true, that calculation has lost some relevancy in this far more complex economy. But the concept of getting people back on the ladder, even if it's on a lower rung, is a worthy one.
Hopefully, Congress will pass a tax bill that gives business enough certainty and financial incentive to create more jobs. Hopefully, economic growth will begin to put a dent in that loss of 8 million jobs since the recession hit.
But an even knottier problem facing the nation's political leadership, from the President on down, is how to get the long-term unemployed into jobs as they become available. To avoid becoming chronically unemployed, people need more than platitudes offering sympathy. Career reinvention requires encouragement and guidance. Business leaders have specifics to offer on what jobs will be coming down the pike in expanding sectors like health care, and what skills are needed. They should to be brought into the political dialogue.
President Obama opened the conversation this fall with an industry-led initiative to better match community college graduates with skilled jobs. He followed with a Dec. 6 speech calling for a 'Sputnik moment' to restart American innovation to create jobs and compete in the world.
But as he assembles a largely new economic team, the President face a more immediate challenge: the need for a 'Manhattan Project' to get the long-term jobless back to work, something that would boost the psyche of both the unemployed and the nation
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
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