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Government Passes Most Recent Unemployment "Stimulus" Bill, Budget Deficit To Increase By $30 Billion
It must have been at least a week without the US government announcing some stimulus, subsidy, tariff or other protectionist measure, because today the government just passed yet another $79 billion stimulus bill, extending unemployment benefits and restoring expired tax breaks. The net cost to the deficit: around $30 billion. This really is a drop in the bucket: so far in fiscal 2010, the US budget has already spent over $107 billion on unemployment benefits, and $30 billion is less than the government raises in one of its three biweekly coupon auctions. On the other hand, when Obama next wonders why nobody in America works any more, he may want to reevaluate that 6 million unemployed people in the US are now encouraged to be on government payrolls for two years.
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ITG and A: You are, of course, correct. But I am confident that the calculus in Washington is that its either this extension or riots in the streets.
400 a week and all the free time you need to grow food for sale, forage for scrap metal, babysit, do handyman work. You don't have to sit on your ass waiting for a cubicle job to reappear. Jesus, people are lazy.
+ 10,000
When our politicians vote for bailouts and wars, when they don't represent us and are corrupted beyond belief, when they commit crimes and aren't held accountable, well what message does that send out to the people. If the citizens aren't interested in getting a job and gaming the system, well they have had some good teachers/politicians. How about the unemployed getting to vote for their own raises like the politicians?
Another novel idea, how about investing the bailout money in creating jobs instead of making bigger TBTFs.
Actually doing a bit of research, the headline is completely wrong and misleading. The senate took no action on the bill before adjourning, so on June 2nd extended unemployemt will begin expiring, as well as cobra benefits that allow people to keep their insurance as well as medicare aid for those unemployed. Assuming this stands, this should put a fabulous burden on public hospitals who will pass the cost on to paying customers. Should eventually take a decent chunk out of a few health care companies profits as well. Ah well, we will all pay for this one way or another. If you think you arent gonna pay for this because your tax bill didnt go up, all it means is someone else is signing your checks for you.
Pelosi and Reid showed them Night of the Living Dead before the vote and told them thats what would end up happening to them if they didn't vote yes, Pelosi said "Yes people hungry serfs hunting us down for dinner! Marshall Law and War in the streets". I heard someone got an angry glare for asking if Pelosi and Reid had done a comeo in the flick.
Did someone mention full employment?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt7TN_CKp9U
When a 1,000 share order of TZA is filled 100 shares at a time, am I sticking it to the local HFT? Sold it in a block, to boot.
I can't believe I actually went and got a job after I got laid off, I could have had free money forever.
I never even missed a mortgage payment!
Well that's about to change.
I think it is time to consider taking a couple months mortgage free, and then getting my MHA lower house payment modification reward. If they don't want to modify, fuck'em, I'll go to the mat, and we'll rent a house for 7 years.
Time to play hard ball.
The American Dream is alive and well I see.
The reality of unemployment is the reason benefits can't be extended forever.
Looking for a job sucks!
Most people would prefer to subject themselves to an "austerity" program in the form of unemployment benefits than suffer the indignities that going on a job interview entails.
Obama's Crazy Plan To Cut Social Security:
http://www.alternet.org/economy/146970/obama%27s_crazy_plan_to_cut_socia...
So what is the end-game here??? It can't possible be that TPTB think these measures will actually help the economy. The logical conclusion then, is that they're actively trying to crash the economy. Why? To usher in the cradle-to-grave welfare state that much faster? Is it simply their craving for power that is driving them to dismantle America as we've known it? I can't seem to identify any rational explanation for the actions of the TPTB...
To quell.
Joeman34
You don't get it. It isn't about welfare state, it's about setting wages lower than the rest of the third world production.
Read Germinal sometime.
Hey - Jerk, you don't get it. When TPTB are doling hand-out after hand-out, it is about the welfare state. I wasn't asking about this particular instance in a vacuum. I was speaking to the TRILLIONS that have been promised for nothing over the last few years. Don't come at me with insults if you have nothing useful to say. You must be a 'ra-tard
what do the banksters have to gain in the long term with a welfare state?
Control over an otherwise unemployable (thanks to long-term classifications as "damaged goods") population?
It's generations of politicians who were indoctrinated in, and still cling to, a failed ideology of a centrally-controlled economy...they can't let go, or they would have to admit their life work was a disastrous waste.
That, or what you said. Or both.
Additionally IMHO it is a form of stimulus.
Stimulus??? Care to elucidate?
I can't put myself in the politicos heads but my thought was they probably think that it boosts the economy VS not boosting the economy. IE in their minds money well spent. Hence stimulus. I mean someone somewhere has to have figured the numbers of what unemployment equals in GDP right?
Yes, but you assume the $ wouldn't otherwise be spent. This is just another form of wealth redistribution. The original owners of the wealth would likely spend it - it doesn't have to be given to deadbeats for it to be spent.
Agree Joeman what else are they going to do? An election year and cut off the tit that feeds them! Don't think so keep feeding the beast!
IMHO it's to prevent civil unrest.
If I am correct - and I have not had to navigate the unemployment line - ever - I am pretty sure that Unemployment Compensation is a program run by the various states. The States fund the program by collecting premiums, (read taxes) from employers to build up funds to fund the bureaucracy which administers the program.
In times of high unemployment, the state spends all the money accumulated in the fund. Once the State fund is empty - and they all are depleted save for possibly ND - they can go to the Feds for a loan to be repaid when employment recovers and there is money flowing once more from premiums (taxes).
So now the Congress writes rules which demand that the states extend these benefits, and the states are forced to borrow more and more from the Feds. How exactly does this cost the Feds even a penny, unless they have managed to forgive certain "loans"? Or have they included, Washington DC style, more pork for other pet projects to get the bill passed?
So, I say, WTF? once again!
WTF: Whiskey, tango, foxtrot. You should not try to understand UC financing. Your head will explode.
IMHO the reason they waited until now to do this is so the jobs creation with Census workers would look positive. If the people that dropped off the roles were on earlier the numbers wouldn't look as good. It is a version of extend and pretend. My guess is June's unemployment numbers won't look so great.
My neighbor says he is employed doing the Census stuff through June, maybe a little earlier.
A lot of negative talk about a Government subsidy. However, in a macroeconomic sense the entire nation is on unemployment, and yes a time will come when they will cut benefits, and I do not mean just unemployment.
They will cut Socail Security, Medicare, Medicaid, social programs, and any other unfundable benefit. With limited cash flow eventually the choice will be between benefits and paying interest on debt, just ask Greece.
For give me for sounding a little obtuse, but it will be because essentially as debt slaves, we will be unable to create meaningful growth.
Lets talk about being a debt slave because this is not always bad if you can payback your debt and then create a benefit from that debt investment.
However, when the Government embraces the concept of Debt to GDP, our political leaders have essentially conscripted use into being debt slaves. Because if the debt cannot be repaid, real growth will just go to pay interest, and our fate is sealed. Perpetual debt slaves.
We should ban the notion of Debt to GDP when there is no viable plan to pay off the debt. Debt to GDP is only a prudent benchmark when there is a viable plan in place to pay down the debt, not live with in perpetuity. Without a budget plan any Debt to GDP is too expensive. Essentually tax on labor goes towards interest.
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Unemployment can be looked as the true measure of political effectiveness, if you feel that employment is important. But, when you look at the actions taken over the years by our political leaders, they do not protect employment or business, nor do they protect the economy.
On the aggregate, from a financial standpoint if you are a tax payer, politicains cut off your arm, and then give you a bandaid, but before they leave they hand out some candy, for which, some time later, you receive a bill.
Mark Beck
I'm unemployed and between here and some other Web sites, I apply for as many jobs in my field as I can and I put my salary requirements $12,000 less than what I used to make. I have has one solid interview after sending out literally hundreds of resumes. So, should I accept a job from McDonalds' at minimum wage and then have to take another job at the same shitty pay to make half of what I used to just to eat and not freeze to death? And then what, I'm trapped as a service-sector slave. So before you malcontents go spitting on me, perhaps you shoul evaluate your own situation and what you would do in my shoes. I doubt anyone of you self-appointed economic geniuses would take a job at McDonald's. Oh, and BTW, UI keeps aggregate demand from collapsing even further. There are some smart people on this board but it seems lately that it's been taken over by people with a political agenda who don't give a rat's ass about their countrymen but only themselves. Well, God will be your judge. Sorry for the rant but some of these comments are disgusting.
+infinity
Taking anything that would lower or nullify future unemployment is simply asking the people who can least afford it to take a haircut.
Thousands of unemployed, former small business persons (who typically don't carry unemployment insurance on themselves) are statistally missing in all of this. This invisable demographic of people comprised a large portion of the 'real' work force, and are the very same demographic that was relied on heavily to pull our asses out of the tech-bust. Now they find themselves completly unrepresented in all this, and broke.
In reality, it was small businesses that were the too big to fail - and the big cheesy economist missed it completly. And like gold it's where freedom makes its last stand.
Yes, I am one of the lucky ones still surviving. But many of my friends and colleagues were not so lucky. We fail, we get NOTHING. We get to bail everyone else out, whether it be welfare, insurance, child care subsidies, corporate welfare, gov leeches, etc. But NO ONE has our backs when we fail. Good prognosis Dr.!
But the government stepping in to help GM , and everyone cries like a wounded pup... go figure! Perhaps what you don't like is no support when everyone else seems to be on the dole? You're right about small business being the engine of the economy, it should be protected, but that best be done through lower taxes and less regulation, and in some extreme cases, where large numbers of person would be effected , perhaps financial help.
Thank you Dr. for that observation. My husband and I fall into that catagory. Honestly, we never take out loans we can't quickly repay so we'd just have to cut back expenses even further and add more services/repairs to our business. What scares me the most is thinking how I'll send my kids to college if things don't get better. No way will I let Government Loans INC own my babies. My oldest is 15.
Maybe your babies will have to get jobs and work for it. As the former governor of MN said, If they are smart enough to go to college, they are smart enough to find a way to pay for it.
But Seriously... are you a troll?
Guess what jerk, if I want to spend my hard earned dollar to send my children to college instead of being taxed to fund welfare and bailouts that should be my perogative.
I happen to believe in individual rights not collective social justice.
No, I'm not a troll, I just didn't sign up to post till recently.
My turn... are you a liberal?
Do you wipe their asses too?
I did when they were little and if they were in an accident or fell ill I'd do it again, as they would for me.
I bet your ass would rot off if something happened to you!
(didn't read the comments, there's 240 of them as I type this, so I'm sure somebody said this already, but i can't resist)
didn't the administration say things were getting better? that we've turned the corner? their equivalent of "mission accomplished?"
Yup, I remember that too. And, in fairness, this year there seems to be a little bit more jobs to apply to but not as much. I, myself, have changed tactics and I'm applying for jobs that are outside of my field, but still professional jobs. It does make me mad when people use the system and don't look for work as soon as thet are laid off. The first thing I did was apply for UI and then hit the boards looking for work. But I don't think this administration cares as much about the backbone of our workforce: small businesses. If so, all that money they doled out to the TBTF would have came with stipulations to lend to small businesses. Not that I think gov't should has any business running banks, but if you give them money there should be stupulations. What we need to do is bring Andrew Jackson back from the grave to break the backs of the banks.
Personally, as a currently employed person, even from a selfish perspective, I think UI payments are probably some of the best way to spend my tax dollars...keeps the pitchforks and torches at bay, crime down, and does at least put some money back in the economy unlike TARP or the black holes of spending in Iraq/Af/Pak
+10000 ... I thought the same thing when I had a job and I have some good prospects so I'm hoping to be employed again soon even though I have a lot more money coming from UI and could just have some more funemployment. But i don't find not working fun at all. There's something intagible and satisfying in getting a paycheck you earned and are proud of. But i think what some are forgetting is to get UI you had to have a job in the first place and for a sizable amount of time to get the larger payouts.
and no bail out for loser gulf states !!!!!!!!!! BP and southern states can pay for it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting EURO chart :
http://stockmarket618.wordpress.com
http://www.zerohedge.com/forum/latest-market-outlook-1
Mr grand, I have been patient with you, but you should really consider stopping the posts on completely unrelated discussions. If you want to advertise, please at least do it when you are on topic like a discussion of Euro, market fluctuations....also, have you considered giving some of your analysis for free rather than simply crowing about past success..you have insight to offer, offer it, where appropriate, and no doubt you will get subscribers.....for this post on a discussion about unemployment, I lost my patience and junked you
Not to sound stupid but....
if our national workforce is 110,217,340
and official unemployment is 15,507,884
(actual is 26,889,586)
doesn't that equal over 14% unemployment?
Exactly. The government lies.
Unemployment only includes those who are collecting, not those who were unlucky to fall of the roles before unlimited extentions (they "gave up" looking for work.) This is why unemployment stays high when there is a recovery, as those who fell off the roles are looking for work too.
Sorry dude but you are either not bright or lack common sense.
The numbers above reflected both the official count and the actual count. Going by the "official" count which IS the number that are currently collecting, the number is wrong.
I do agree about the "government lies" comment. Its about the only thing you've said to me that makes sense.
Now shoo-fly.... I don't need a buddy.
www.shadowstats.com
Welcome. You decided to take the red pill. You will learn a lot here. The site above talks about the "real numbers" for CPI, inflation, unemployment etc. It's a pay site but there is plenty of free info.
Thanks. Afew years ago I could have subscribed, but then again I wouldn't of thought that I needed to. And you helped me figure out why Leo is so positive about the future........ he ate the blue.
Bring back the Gov. cheese program and let these people gaming the system eat that. It is their fault they have no real skills. Darwinism will set this straight soon enough. Those idiots did not pay attention during the ant vs the grasshopper movie in 1st grade. Now these grasshoppers want half our savings??? They have no shame in holding out their hands after spending too much and relying on the government instead of their families.. Yes if you screw up and you have not had such horrible morals as to become ostracized by your family- THAT is where you turn, not to the government.. If everyone in your family is a loser, eat the cheese and don't reproduce (Darwin says your genes no good). Have a nice day!
You are right. The government is messing up the gene pool by giving an incentive to feeders who reproduce when they can't afford to. While those with brains are having less (or no children at all) so that we can give them an advantage in this messed up system. Another decade of this and our hands will start draggin again!
Watch Idiocracy. Scary movie!
Folks, unemployment IS PAID FOR. Look at your paystubs, people! Plus, you only get unemployment if you personally paid in enough. (If you only worked for a short time and small amount, you won't get anything). It only counts against the deficit because the gov wrongly merges it with the general taxes to make their deficit spending look less bad.
Food stamps is different. There should be a means test, so that people have to use up every asset they have before qualifying. That would be a true hunger emergency, not some subsidy for lazy, well-off ipod users.
I don't give myself a pay-stub but I do know it is 26 weeks of working to be eligible for unemployment. Even if they charge you $50 a week you could be laid off after paying $1300 and potentially collect $330 for a couple years - that's over $34,000. Not to mention free schooling. More is being subtracted from unemployment than is being added in, I think.
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