i'm sorry, which Bush policy were we referring to? and be careful here, because there are a TON that obama is continuing.
Some percentage of that number is the result of too many people chasing too few jobs, right? I mean, the entire 18% is not simply people asking for benefits, is it?
no, the supposed difference between that number (which is quoted from memory) and the BLS is that it does not count the people who have "given up" etc. if someone has given up, and they're not getting a free unemployment check, i think they would be a bit more inclined to search for work, dont you? much easier to "give up" when you're getting a check into perpetuity. i'm off to grab something to eat (it's noon here). if it takes me a bit to respond, that is why.
UE showed scale down to 50% of the benefit over the period of 100 weeks. Its cool to help the recently unemployed a bit. It nasty to encourage them to remain unemployed by paying them so much. If you are single and value your free time at all --- not working is pretty cool. As a single person, I would have been surfing, skiing, working out and making more than minor league ball players and journeymen touring pros. All you have to do is keep your housing costs low.
back. burrito was good. i agree, Jem. i also think the 26 weeks was fine for good economic times, but should be revised higher, even to double for the duration of a recession. once the recession is over, it should return to the 26 weeks. but three years? way, way out of hand.
The Right's favorite bromide: supply-side, trickle down economics. You understand, of course, that the Right believes tax cuts pay for themselves when, in fact, they do not. Even bubbleboy Greenspan himself admitted that tax cuts don't pay for themselves. The tax cuts during the Bush administration disproportionately favored the rich. Remember, not just in absolute terms, but in (dis)proportion.
And what would be your point of comparison insofar as recessions are concerned? Surely you remember that in addition to the financial sector, the domestic auto industry had been in peril. Everyone with a thinking brain recognizes that the economic circumstances have been unlike any other since the depression. Against this fairly uncharted background, how do you go about drawing your various lines in the sand?
I too agree with gem's statement; life follows the path of least resistance. On the other hand, has the employment situation improved since the start of this crisis?