This Week in Poverty: Deal on Unemployment Benefits Leaves Out Poorest

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http://www.thenation.com/blog/166435/week-poverty-deal-unemployment-benefits-leaves-out-poorest

Unemployment Insurance and Poverty

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, co-chair of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus, voted against the recent extension of unemployment benefits because it shortened the maximum number of weeks a jobless worker could qualify.

“Instead of scaling back unemployment benefits we need to be adding weeks to help people get by when there continues to be four workers in line for each job,” said Lee.

She makes a hell of a point.

While most of the media have focused on the Democrats “pretty much getting what they wanted,” it has given short shrift to what this deal means for the long-term unemployed, currently at near-record levels, with 43 percent of unemployed people jobless for more than six months. Under the new deal they will receive fewer weeks of unemployment benefits than were available between the end of 2009 and last year, with the maximum reduced from ninety-nine weeks to seventy-three weeks by September 2012.

So what are the consequences of the Democrats’ “win” for the long-term unemployed?

[CAPHAVOC]

1. A lower unemployment rate for the election?

[undeterred]

2. I'm so thankful I finally found something after nearly a year.

But I know some people who have given up looking and aren't even collecting unemployment any more. And there are no programs directed toward helping them. People just give up and start living off someone else...keep applying for food stamps... start living in their cars.