WASHINGTON -- House Democrats on Wednesday introduced a bill to prevent two million people from losing their unemployment benefits during the holidays.
Congress has until the end of the month to reauthorize federally-funded unemployment benefits currently supporting five million long-term jobless (practically, they have just until Friday because of a Thanksgiving break next week). If the federal benefits are allowed to lapse, waves of people will prematurely stop receiving them, with two million people facing a cutoff by the end of the year.
Full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/house-democrats-push-for-_n_784996.html
Showing posts with label 2010 Unemployment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 Unemployment. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
CBS 60 Minutes Scheduled To Report On Unemployment and the "99ers"
CBS News will be airing a piece on the unemployed in the country and the "99ers" this Sunday, October 24, at 7PM EST. Check your local listings. Below is a clip from what will be aired:
Here is the program note from CBS website:
Here is the program note from CBS website:
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
OP: The social injustice for long term unemployed still exists and continues to fester
The "Jobless In America" series of articles began one full month ago when the first state that was covered was California. Having written about only 10 of the 50 states thus far, with Illinois United States United States
Of course the efforts of the long term unemployed to gain congressional recognition began many more months ago. Nearly all is lost for some - including hope. Long term unemployed need to know there are people fighting with them on this issue and will be here until the problem is resolved through job creation. There are reasons to remain hopeful. There are many reasons to politically fight and plea for extended unemployment benefits. This is just the absolute least thing that should be done for the unemployed and as more and more exhaust benefits - the least is not being done.
There are many questions to be answered which right now the answers do not exist and it is just not useful to the immediate needs of the unemployed. For example, I would like to know why a 20 acre shopping facility in my community has received nearly $300,000 of stimulus funds but there are no construction workers on the site. That shopping complex alone would create hundreds of jobs in a rural area ofTennessee
The long term unemployed who have exhausted benefits need money now to not just prevent a double dip recession but also for the more moral reasons such as so they can provide for their children and themselves with the most basic necessities such as housing and food.
To a person without a job right now, this is not just a case of a political malpractice. Each and every day, it seems like this is social holocaust. Let me be clear with my readers, in many ways it is. Members of Congress know this. What they are not counting on though is the majority of American people knowing this.
The issue of unemployment has now become too politically safe for democrats. Democrats need not do anything for the rest of the year for the unemployed and they can all safely prove to be a better candidate on the issue of unemployment insurance to the majority of Americans who vote than the republican candidate who opposes unemployment insurance altogether. And then there's another half, perhaps some from the same half of others, of theUnited States
A deficit is still a deficit and a debt is still a debt - the amounts are arbitrary and considering the circumstances, what the hell would another $200 billion do in the long term as far as paying down the debt?
Nearly each and every state in the union is facing budget problems and is making cuts to necessary functions as the first (and only) stimulus for Main Street fades. Additionally, more and more persons will fall into the ranks of the unemployed as these cuts escalate. As this is being typed right now, there's a teacher that knows that he or she will not have a job next year and is planning for it. At least these persons are being forewarned. The long term jobless right now who have exhausted unemployment insurance were given no notice and more voices need to be advocating for the hardest-hit in this Great Recession.
Some politicians are feeding fear to the people demanding resolution to the deficit. For whatever reason, these persons have completely forgotten that the country is still healing from the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression and are buying into this fear. This fear of the deficit is why the issue of unemployment is so politically toxic and it is taking months for important and time sensitive legislation to clear Congress. Both political parties are playing the safe card through the 2010 election cycle. Pelosi's answer stating that they will take up the issue again in November seemed to be code for if democrats still have a majority and these problems are still ours to correct then we will do something, of course. Right now we choose not to be on the causing controversy about the deficit. This is an A-list political card republicans could use against democrats - if only they did not already make their stand opposing these extensions.
Some persons who have not been impacted as badly by the financial collapse are seemingly discarding the immediate needs of up to 20% of theUnited States
The recent news of the House Ways & Means starting a subcommittee hearing on the issue of the long term jobless is encouraging, but shouldn't this issue be on a faster track? The entire country is a hospital right now in the sense of healing from the financial collapse and it seems like the persons in the ER are being quarantined rather than treated. Some disgusting companies are even being so blatantly discriminating to state in their job ads that they will not hire anyone who is currently unemployed.
If a true and organized boycott were to occur, it should be on these companies discriminating against the unemployed. Such a boycott is simply consumer choice, right? Just as there's no specific law on the books for the companies who are discriminating hiring unemployed and mostly displaced workers, that's the power of consumer choice if an organized boycott occurs. As more and more of these stories surface, a list is being created and documented for these companies denying their fellow Americans any opportunity for a job.
My only advice to the unemployed is to continue the fight. Take comfort in knowing that you are documented and being recognized by some of your fellow Americans. Advocacy is happening and results are waiting. Waiting until November is not the solution. No one can promise when relief will come but the promise of the emergency flare being fired and seen can be made. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the 111th Congress does have the "99er petition" found at 99erspetition.com. It is my sincere hope and the relentless advocacy of this blog that action is taken as soon as possible.
Of course the efforts of the long term unemployed to gain congressional recognition began many more months ago. Nearly all is lost for some - including hope. Long term unemployed need to know there are people fighting with them on this issue and will be here until the problem is resolved through job creation. There are reasons to remain hopeful. There are many reasons to politically fight and plea for extended unemployment benefits. This is just the absolute least thing that should be done for the unemployed and as more and more exhaust benefits - the least is not being done.
There are many questions to be answered which right now the answers do not exist and it is just not useful to the immediate needs of the unemployed. For example, I would like to know why a 20 acre shopping facility in my community has received nearly $300,000 of stimulus funds but there are no construction workers on the site. That shopping complex alone would create hundreds of jobs in a rural area of
The long term unemployed who have exhausted benefits need money now to not just prevent a double dip recession but also for the more moral reasons such as so they can provide for their children and themselves with the most basic necessities such as housing and food.
To a person without a job right now, this is not just a case of a political malpractice. Each and every day, it seems like this is social holocaust. Let me be clear with my readers, in many ways it is. Members of Congress know this. What they are not counting on though is the majority of American people knowing this.
The issue of unemployment has now become too politically safe for democrats. Democrats need not do anything for the rest of the year for the unemployed and they can all safely prove to be a better candidate on the issue of unemployment insurance to the majority of Americans who vote than the republican candidate who opposes unemployment insurance altogether. And then there's another half, perhaps some from the same half of others, of the
A deficit is still a deficit and a debt is still a debt - the amounts are arbitrary and considering the circumstances, what the hell would another $200 billion do in the long term as far as paying down the debt?
Nearly each and every state in the union is facing budget problems and is making cuts to necessary functions as the first (and only) stimulus for Main Street fades. Additionally, more and more persons will fall into the ranks of the unemployed as these cuts escalate. As this is being typed right now, there's a teacher that knows that he or she will not have a job next year and is planning for it. At least these persons are being forewarned. The long term jobless right now who have exhausted unemployment insurance were given no notice and more voices need to be advocating for the hardest-hit in this Great Recession.
Some politicians are feeding fear to the people demanding resolution to the deficit. For whatever reason, these persons have completely forgotten that the country is still healing from the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression and are buying into this fear. This fear of the deficit is why the issue of unemployment is so politically toxic and it is taking months for important and time sensitive legislation to clear Congress. Both political parties are playing the safe card through the 2010 election cycle. Pelosi's answer stating that they will take up the issue again in November seemed to be code for if democrats still have a majority and these problems are still ours to correct then we will do something, of course. Right now we choose not to be on the causing controversy about the deficit. This is an A-list political card republicans could use against democrats - if only they did not already make their stand opposing these extensions.
Some persons who have not been impacted as badly by the financial collapse are seemingly discarding the immediate needs of up to 20% of the
The recent news of the House Ways & Means starting a subcommittee hearing on the issue of the long term jobless is encouraging, but shouldn't this issue be on a faster track? The entire country is a hospital right now in the sense of healing from the financial collapse and it seems like the persons in the ER are being quarantined rather than treated. Some disgusting companies are even being so blatantly discriminating to state in their job ads that they will not hire anyone who is currently unemployed.
If a true and organized boycott were to occur, it should be on these companies discriminating against the unemployed. Such a boycott is simply consumer choice, right? Just as there's no specific law on the books for the companies who are discriminating hiring unemployed and mostly displaced workers, that's the power of consumer choice if an organized boycott occurs. As more and more of these stories surface, a list is being created and documented for these companies denying their fellow Americans any opportunity for a job.
My only advice to the unemployed is to continue the fight. Take comfort in knowing that you are documented and being recognized by some of your fellow Americans. Advocacy is happening and results are waiting. Waiting until November is not the solution. No one can promise when relief will come but the promise of the emergency flare being fired and seen can be made. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the 111th Congress does have the "99er petition" found at 99erspetition.com. It is my sincere hope and the relentless advocacy of this blog that action is taken as soon as possible.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
The Need For A Second Stimulus Exists As Dow Dips Below 10,000
If you do some digging on the net, the need for a second stimulus is documented even as early as last year in 2009. We are only recently hearing more calls for a second stimulus; but the case for a second stimulus is mounting; especially when one considers that the last stimulus did not take into account any fiscal problems for state and local governments. In addition to Paul Krugman's recent assertion, many have long argued the need for a second stimulus. Most in fact the very day that the first stimulus was passed. It was recognized that the first stimulus would not do enough to create private sector jobs. In January of this year, it was recognized by The Christian Science Monitor that the need for a second stimulus exists.
The United States mastered macroeconomic management, wrote the textbooks, and the Chinese are currently using our own playbook to have a faster recovery in this Great Recession with an economics model created by the United States. The article referenced by the Christian Science Monitor was written from the assertions of Joseph Stiglitz, who was awarded the Nobel prize for economics in 2001 and has published the book, Freefall: America, Free Markets and the Sinking of the World Economy the link to this book is posted below for anyone interested in the assertions made by Mr. Stiglitz, an economist who the federal government needs to be listening to and passing a second stimulus.
Below is an excerpt from that article in the Christian Science Monitor:
This is a tool for the unemployed. This is a talking point and this is a reason to petition again to Congress, this is another reason to continue advocacy. Perhaps Congress does not have the political will for a "Tier 5" because of the name. Let's just call it EB2 then. Call it the "Funding States That Are Broke Act of 2010". Call it whatever you want to call it. Write the legislation and pass it NOW!
Readers, we need input!
It is obvious persons are exhausted over everything. Frustrated. At the tipping point, if you will... Scared.
Would it be worthwhile to start a campaign for a second stimulus or is everyone too burned out at this point?
You wouldn't be calling Congress for a Tier 5, you would be calling for a second stimulus to prevent the double dip recession which is inevitable without it. Investors are not going to invest unless they are certain the economy is going to create jobs and increase consumer spending. Naturally, cutting the safety net from 10% or more of the United States population is not a very smart way to increase consumer spending. Doing nothing is not a solution. Waiting until November to take action is not a solution. Ideas anyone?
The unemployed might win their argument for a Tier 5 by making this a case about the economy rather than just unemployment insurance extensions.
On January 22, 2010, The Christian Science Monitor reported at this link: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Global-Viewpoint/2010/0122/US-economy-needs-a-second-stimulus that the U.S. economy needs a second stimulus. The article references Keynesian economics which is the key that China is using to get out of their recession citing the construction of high speed rail in China. Something that this government is not truly doing. Not in the way that the Republicans are saying that we are not doing . The Republican model for economic policy is an all out spending freeze.The last stimulus package didn’t take into account the fiscal problems the recession would create for state and local governments. -The Christian Science Monitor
The United States mastered macroeconomic management, wrote the textbooks, and the Chinese are currently using our own playbook to have a faster recovery in this Great Recession with an economics model created by the United States. The article referenced by the Christian Science Monitor was written from the assertions of Joseph Stiglitz, who was awarded the Nobel prize for economics in 2001 and has published the book, Freefall: America, Free Markets and the Sinking of the World Economy the link to this book is posted below for anyone interested in the assertions made by Mr. Stiglitz, an economist who the federal government needs to be listening to and passing a second stimulus.
Below is an excerpt from that article in the Christian Science Monitor:
The US stimulus has made a difference. If we hadn’t had the stimulus, unemployment would be 11 or 12 percent. Yet, it was not big enough or well enough designed to bring employment back to normal levels.
This is a tool for the unemployed. This is a talking point and this is a reason to petition again to Congress, this is another reason to continue advocacy. Perhaps Congress does not have the political will for a "Tier 5" because of the name. Let's just call it EB2 then. Call it the "Funding States That Are Broke Act of 2010". Call it whatever you want to call it. Write the legislation and pass it NOW!
Readers, we need input!
It is obvious persons are exhausted over everything. Frustrated. At the tipping point, if you will... Scared.
Would it be worthwhile to start a campaign for a second stimulus or is everyone too burned out at this point?
You wouldn't be calling Congress for a Tier 5, you would be calling for a second stimulus to prevent the double dip recession which is inevitable without it. Investors are not going to invest unless they are certain the economy is going to create jobs and increase consumer spending. Naturally, cutting the safety net from 10% or more of the United States population is not a very smart way to increase consumer spending. Doing nothing is not a solution. Waiting until November to take action is not a solution. Ideas anyone?
The unemployed might win their argument for a Tier 5 by making this a case about the economy rather than just unemployment insurance extensions.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman, criticizes lawmakers for 'inflicting pain' to jobless
Paul Krugman, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2008, helped make the case for a second stimulus stronger over the holiday weekend by mentioning in the New York Times Op-Ed that lawmakers should increase availability of insurance benefits in this weak, but gradually growing economy. In his New York Time's article "The Pain Caucus", dated May 30, 2010, Krugman asserts that it is a 'destructive idea' to 'stop helping the jobless and start inflicting pain.'
Paul Krugman's statement echoes the message that Lawrence Summers made last week before the Congressional recess when he made the case for a second stimulus which would include additional jobless benefits, tax cuts, and the proposal would continue to provide funding to assist the states who are facing many cuts next year due to budget issues and the toll the Great Recession has taken. The bill, H.R. 4213, which extends the filing dates for the current approved tiers of benefits passed the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 245-171 in the United States House of Representatives and the measure was not taken up in the United States Senate before the Memorial Day break. This is the second consecutive month that the Congress failed to take up the measure before the deadline expired. If you want to see how your representative voted in the US House, see the official roll call at http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll325.xml.
Read the entire article at: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-51044-Nashville-DNC-Examiner~y2010m6d1-Nobel-Prize-winning-economist-Paul-Krugman-criticizes-lawmakers-for-inflicting-pain-to-jobless?cid=publish_twitter:51044
Paul Krugman's statement echoes the message that Lawrence Summers made last week before the Congressional recess when he made the case for a second stimulus which would include additional jobless benefits, tax cuts, and the proposal would continue to provide funding to assist the states who are facing many cuts next year due to budget issues and the toll the Great Recession has taken. The bill, H.R. 4213, which extends the filing dates for the current approved tiers of benefits passed the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 245-171 in the United States House of Representatives and the measure was not taken up in the United States Senate before the Memorial Day break. This is the second consecutive month that the Congress failed to take up the measure before the deadline expired. If you want to see how your representative voted in the US House, see the official roll call at http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll325.xml.
Read the entire article at: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-51044-Nashville-DNC-Examiner~y2010m6d1-Nobel-Prize-winning-economist-Paul-Krugman-criticizes-lawmakers-for-inflicting-pain-to-jobless?cid=publish_twitter:51044
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
#5 On Change.org Means Nothing If Congress Isn't Listening
Reading the latest article from Mike Rheaume, Gather, inspires me to keep pressing forward on the cause for a Tier 5 Unemployment Extension. Congress knows for certain we are here and ignoring the longest-term unemployed is not a solution for any political party. Democrats may have perhaps made the political miscalculation that since the Republican majority does not see the need for any additional unemployment extensions (seeing they voted "Nay" to even extend the dates of the already approved tiers), they will have no repercussions by not addressing this issue.
Both parties need to think again if this is their thought. Yes, Wall Street Reform is important. Yes, we must have a Supreme Court but not until October. Yes, immigration reform is important but that issue has waited this many years...
PEOPLE ARE STARVING AND LOSING THEIR HOMES AND NEED ASSISTANCE NOW
The point is simple and there is no cause greater at this current moment than job creation. If the jobs cannot be created fast enough, the American people deserve to at least receive the fraction of their prior salaries from unemployment insurance. In some states, the worker has actually paid into this system directly. In all other states, the employee has paid into the system indirectly. This isn't a handout - it's a hand up. It's an honest Main Street Bailout that one would think would be much more politically popular.
No one out there is choosing this 11 MILLION JOB shortfall our country has. I have complete and total optimism that a million jobs can be created this year. Even with that optimistic and over-reaching opinion, that still leaves 10 MILLION JOBS short. Most, if not all, are gone forever. Persons are re-training and learning trades they never imagined they would need.
The whole situation is frustrating and it has nothing to do with political affiliation. When one loses his/her job or safety net the absolute last thought on that person's mind is if they are Republican or Democrat or Independent. The first thing on your mind is, "How can I make ends meet?". "How will I pay my mortgage and keep food on the table?". "How will I provide for my children?" These questions are much more important than which political party is up or down and Congress needs to reflect that.
Everyone, please keep your spirits up and keep urging Congress to assist. Continue to take part in the initiatives such as the Change.org petition, the "Unemployed Will Be Heard" call Congress campaign, and the upcoming "MAYDAY" campaign. Don't like any of these campaigns? Make your own! If it is something everyone can do, this blog will promote it - just let US Unemployed Blogsite know.
The cause may be #5 at Change.org for now. http://politics.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978202781
Please help us push this cause to the top. Number one isn't necessarily the goal - the goal is getting a Tier 5 passed through Congress and your Representatives need to know where you stand. Unless of course, you have an idea that would create 11 million jobs overnight that is feasible and would not uproot the economy.
Both parties need to think again if this is their thought. Yes, Wall Street Reform is important. Yes, we must have a Supreme Court but not until October. Yes, immigration reform is important but that issue has waited this many years...
PEOPLE ARE STARVING AND LOSING THEIR HOMES AND NEED ASSISTANCE NOW
The point is simple and there is no cause greater at this current moment than job creation. If the jobs cannot be created fast enough, the American people deserve to at least receive the fraction of their prior salaries from unemployment insurance. In some states, the worker has actually paid into this system directly. In all other states, the employee has paid into the system indirectly. This isn't a handout - it's a hand up. It's an honest Main Street Bailout that one would think would be much more politically popular.
No one out there is choosing this 11 MILLION JOB shortfall our country has. I have complete and total optimism that a million jobs can be created this year. Even with that optimistic and over-reaching opinion, that still leaves 10 MILLION JOBS short. Most, if not all, are gone forever. Persons are re-training and learning trades they never imagined they would need.
The whole situation is frustrating and it has nothing to do with political affiliation. When one loses his/her job or safety net the absolute last thought on that person's mind is if they are Republican or Democrat or Independent. The first thing on your mind is, "How can I make ends meet?". "How will I pay my mortgage and keep food on the table?". "How will I provide for my children?" These questions are much more important than which political party is up or down and Congress needs to reflect that.
Everyone, please keep your spirits up and keep urging Congress to assist. Continue to take part in the initiatives such as the Change.org petition, the "Unemployed Will Be Heard" call Congress campaign, and the upcoming "MAYDAY" campaign. Don't like any of these campaigns? Make your own! If it is something everyone can do, this blog will promote it - just let US Unemployed Blogsite know.
The cause may be #5 at Change.org for now. http://politics.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978202781
Please help us push this cause to the top. Number one isn't necessarily the goal - the goal is getting a Tier 5 passed through Congress and your Representatives need to know where you stand. Unless of course, you have an idea that would create 11 million jobs overnight that is feasible and would not uproot the economy.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Something To Think About Over The Weekend
There is no greater case for the need for a Tier 5 than if you look at this graph. To a person happily employed right now - it means to them perhaps it is okay to go ahead and shut off the funding for the longest-term unemployed. To a person who is unemployed, it underscores the fact that if you were laid off in 2008 - you are just now having the opportunity to truly compete for jobs. Both sides agree that this graph is good news but the graph speaks for itself about the jobs that just did not exist during 2008 and 2009.
Sure, the longest-term unemployed were applying their hearts out. But during 2008 and 2009 the country was losing jobs. How can anyone say that all of the longest-term unemployed are not doing their best is absurd. There can be no change in the number of those who are unemployed until jobs are created. When there are this many millions out of work - 162,000 jobs in one month is a great start but there are not enough jobs for everyone.
Why shut off the lifeline that so many thousands need until the jobs that the country lost get created again? The numbers do not add up. To be totally fair about the situation: If you were laid off in the year 2008, just recently have you had a true opportunity to apply for a job and get serious consideration. There was massive job loss in 2008 and 2009. Your only opportunity was to take the position of someone else who quit their job.
If you are eligible to receive unemployment benefits - you know that you cannot even receive the benefit unless your state verifies that you were laid off. The unemployed did not quit their jobs - they were laid off. Unemployed through no fault of their own. If there is anyone out there who is a 99er wishing that you had done more in 2008 and 2009 - look at the number of job losses. There's nothing more you could have done.
It's just simple math. It speaks to what Senator Menendez was mentioning in that Senate Finance Committee hearing. The jobs did not exist during '08 and '09. The graph tells us that. Common sense tells us that.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Bailout Bank (JP Morgan/Chase) Released Report Stating Extended Jobless Benefits Is Reason For High Unemployment - Republicans Agree
Lengthened availability of jobless benefits has raised the unemployment rate by 1.5 percentage points and has increased the average duration of unemployment spells by over a month, according to a report put out yesterday by JPMorgan Chase Bank.
The report claims that jobless benefits have the potential to increase the unemployment rate by softening the blow of losing a job and encourage people who would otherwise drop out of the labor force to be counted as job seekers and therefore in the labor force.
Analyst Rick Ellis explains the math behind the report's findings:
If the current national rate was 10 percent, half of that (or 5 percent) is what you would typically expect to see in a healthy economy. Of the remaining 5 percent, 1.5 points is attributable to the extension of unemployment benefits past the recent historical threshold of 26 weeks.
Republican pundits were already repeating that 1.5 point number late Wednesday, using it as a talking point in favor of letting the extended benefits expire.
Ellis disagrees with the premise behind the JP Morgan Chase theory:
The national unemployment rate peaked in late 2009, and at that point, only 20 of the 47 weeks of extended coverage had been enacted. ... The addition of another 27 weeks of coverage should have sent the national unemployment rate back up sharply. Instead, the number remained at pretty much a steady level.
However, the analysts at JPMorgan Chase aren't the only ones claiming that extended federal unemployment benefits are adding to the country's jobless problem.
Gary Wolfram of the Business & Media Institute writes: "It ought to be clear that if we reduce the cost of becoming or remaining unemployed, then we will have greater unemployment ... One reason we have had such a “jobless recovery” is due to the reduction in the cost of remaining unemployed due to the expansion of unemployment benefits."
You can expect to hear more of these arguments in the weeks ahead when the U.S. House of Representatives takes up the Senate jobs bill that would extend the deadlines for filing for federal extended unemployment benefits through the end of the year.
Source Story
Note from the blogger: This article was found today from MLive.com. Remember that the American taxpayer bailed out the goons at JP Morgan/Chase. Michael Feroli, Chase Bank, is the person we all have to thank for this recent study from Chase bank.
I bet our tax dollars helped pay Mr. Feroli for this study. His email is michael.e.feroli@jpmorgan.com in case you had something to say to him.
If stories like this infuriate you as much as they do me, let me know in comments. It would seem to me the reason for our high unemployment is the simple lack of jobs. But what do I know - I'm just an average tax paying, law-abiding citizen.
The report claims that jobless benefits have the potential to increase the unemployment rate by softening the blow of losing a job and encourage people who would otherwise drop out of the labor force to be counted as job seekers and therefore in the labor force.
Analyst Rick Ellis explains the math behind the report's findings:
If the current national rate was 10 percent, half of that (or 5 percent) is what you would typically expect to see in a healthy economy. Of the remaining 5 percent, 1.5 points is attributable to the extension of unemployment benefits past the recent historical threshold of 26 weeks.
Republican pundits were already repeating that 1.5 point number late Wednesday, using it as a talking point in favor of letting the extended benefits expire.
Ellis disagrees with the premise behind the JP Morgan Chase theory:
The national unemployment rate peaked in late 2009, and at that point, only 20 of the 47 weeks of extended coverage had been enacted. ... The addition of another 27 weeks of coverage should have sent the national unemployment rate back up sharply. Instead, the number remained at pretty much a steady level.
However, the analysts at JPMorgan Chase aren't the only ones claiming that extended federal unemployment benefits are adding to the country's jobless problem.
Gary Wolfram of the Business & Media Institute writes: "It ought to be clear that if we reduce the cost of becoming or remaining unemployed, then we will have greater unemployment ... One reason we have had such a “jobless recovery” is due to the reduction in the cost of remaining unemployed due to the expansion of unemployment benefits."
You can expect to hear more of these arguments in the weeks ahead when the U.S. House of Representatives takes up the Senate jobs bill that would extend the deadlines for filing for federal extended unemployment benefits through the end of the year.
Source Story
Note from the blogger: This article was found today from MLive.com. Remember that the American taxpayer bailed out the goons at JP Morgan/Chase. Michael Feroli, Chase Bank, is the person we all have to thank for this recent study from Chase bank.
I bet our tax dollars helped pay Mr. Feroli for this study. His email is michael.e.feroli@jpmorgan.com in case you had something to say to him.
If stories like this infuriate you as much as they do me, let me know in comments. It would seem to me the reason for our high unemployment is the simple lack of jobs. But what do I know - I'm just an average tax paying, law-abiding citizen.
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