Republicans’ Unemployment Shame

[babylonsister]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/28/republicans-unemployment-shame.html

Republicans’ Unemployment Shame
Jamelle Bouie
By Jamelle Bouie
December 28th 20135:45 am

Emergency benefits have just expired for some 1.3 million jobless Americans, putting a huge dent in our economy. Why can’t the GOP do the right thing?



Thanks to congressional inaction, an estimated 1.3 million people will lose their emergency unemployment benefits on Saturday. For those people—who no longer qualify for state-based benefits—this means the end of their aid. For millions more, it’s a return to the pre-recession status quo; at most, they’ll be eligible for 26 weeks of assistance.

Given the circumstances, this is ludicrous. Long-term unemployment is at its highest rate in decades, and withdrawing emergency benefits would serve to push these people out of the workforce, to say nothing of the blow to short-term economic growth, as billions of dollars are removed from the consumer economy. And, contrary to what Republicans like Kentucky Senator Rand Paul say, this isn’t a matter of personal laziness.

snip//

The prospects for fixing the lapse are mixed. Most Republicans are opposed to extending benefits, and argue that the program increases dependency, despite research that the opposite is true; with some form of support guaranteed, unemployed workers are more likely to stay in the workforce and continue their search for a job. With that said, there are Republicans in the Senate—like Dean Heller of Nevada—who support a short-term extension of three months. And House Speaker John Boehner has signaled his willingness to consider an extension, provided it’s offset with further cuts to spending.

The problem is that Congress has just passed an agreement that maintains most sequester cuts, and congressional Democrats are unlikely to sign on to another round of deficit reduction, just as Republicans are loath to consider new spending.

If the long-term unemployed have anything on their side, it’s that extending benefits is popular with the public, with 55 percent in favor and 33 percent opposed, according to a recent survey (PDF) commissioned by the National Employment Law Project. Likewise, Public Policy Polling—a Democratic firm—found that in four GOP swing districts, large bipartisan majorities supported an extension. In some areas, in fact, local news outlets are hitting Republicans hard for their resistance to renewing emergency unemployment insurance.

There’s a chance that this pressure will work to move a few GOP lawmakers to the “yes” camp, providing votes to help the unemployed. But, as we saw throughout 2013, you’re almost certain to lose if you bet on Republicans to do the right thing.

[badtoworse]

1. I believe it would pass if it were paid for with offsetting cuts elsewhere

If we need to pay for it by borrowing money or raising taxes, it doesn't have a chance.

[Scuba]

2. Can we make suggestions? Like subsidies to big oil and agriculture? Maybe cut an aircraft carrier?

[badtoworse]

4. As a practical matter, cuts need to be balanced as to whose ox gets gored.

I could see things like that being part of a deal. One-sided cuts aren't going to fly.

[BlueStreak]

3. Why is 52 weeks the magic number?

Last edited Sat Dec 28, 2013, 12:44 PM - Edit history (1)

A person is an evil, sub-human being if they want to stop payments after 26 weeks, but they should get a Nobel prize if they want to do exactly the same thing after 52 weeks?

That makes no sense. We should stop polarizing issues like this. We should make proposals for a short-term extension that is combined with job re-training programs and pegged to phase out as the unemployment rate goes down.

But Democrats never do that. What they are proposing is an all-or-nothing-no-strings-attached program that any Republican is going to see as plain old welfare nanny state.

We need to change the debate into something more constructive, something that at least a few Republicans can support.