These numbers are significant, if unemployment benefits aren't extended between now and June when 5,000,000+ lose Unemployment benefits, there is going to be some major setbacks. Anyway I wouldn't be worried, they will extend them until 2011!!!! 1.2M jobless could lose benefits Sunday Published: Feb. 26, 2010 at 11:45 AM WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- About 1.2 million of the jobless stand to lose unemployment benefits if the U.S. Senate fails to approve an extension by Sunday, officials say. The House has already passed a 30-day extension, but Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., blocked Majority Leader Harry Reid's effort to bring the bill to a vote Thursday in the upper house, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Reid, D-Nev., called for the 30-day extension as a short-term measure to give Congress more time to work out legislation that would extend unemployment benefits by as much as a year. The extension also affects COBRA, the program allowing laid-off workers to buy into their previous health insurance. The National Employment Law Project predicted 5 million people could be without work and without unemployment benefits by June if nothing is done. While economists say the recession has bottomed out, job losses remain high and new jobs, few, with the Labor Department reporting 496,000 people filed new claims for unemployment last week, up 22,000 from the previous week. "Long-term unemployment is unlikely to loosen its grip on our economy anytime soon," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project.
thats 360 million dollars per week or so that these unemployed will not be spending. Doesnt seem like much in the scheme of things, but then you remember that thats $360 million that businesses and landlords are not going to have in income which in turn means they will buy less product from the distributors, which in turn they cut their production which in turn they lay off more workers which in turn will then have no money to pay to businesses and their landlords who in turn will buy less product...and so on, and so on. If they dont keep paying these people benefits, we will just go into a death spiral. What the government probably should do is stop giving away free money,and make them do something for this money. My idea is that since 50% of all the land in the united states is owned by the government, that they should put these people to work farming, then when harvest time comes along they export the crops to other countries which in turn lightens the amount of debt that we are getting ourselves into. Even if the government loses money on the farming, they will lose alot less than they are now and this is something that everyone who is unemployed can do for a paycheck. And people who dont like farming will be more likely to try alot harder to find an easier job rather than just giving up and watching TV all day.
Aha. You might want to re-think this brilliant plan when you think of other costs such as building new housing for these people (as 80% or so live in URBAN centers) relocation costs and the fact that these people have families, for the most part. So take mommy away, send her 500 miles away or more to work on a farm while daddy has a job in the city and 2 kids to take care of?
Of course there are many things the government could be doing to help people but I believe you are mistaken in thinking that the government cares about people.
There should be an unemployment benefit extention work program. Period 1 of unemployment - no work required to collect benefits. period 2 - 10 hours a week washing windows on public buildings required to collect unemployment period 3 - 20 hours a week picking up trash required to continue collecting unemployement. period 4 - 40 hours a week cleaning public toilets required to collect unemployment. period 5 - 50 hours a week scrubbing sewer tunnel walls required to collect unemployment.
Step 6: If the deadbeats keep claiming after that: A bullet to the back of the head and use the corpses as manure for public parks. Take their kids (if they have ones) as slave/sex labor otherwise turn their parents into manure as well!
Are you people retarded? Just because you claim unemployment does mean you are a deadbeat. The world is in a tough spot and there are people who want to work are not able to find work. Have a heart. When Bear Sterns went under Jamie Dimon said "There but by the grace of God go you or I" Humbly think of that for a moment.