(Thanks to Congressman Doggett for this post. - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
To Preserve a Lifeline for More than 6 Million Americans
In my hometown of Austin, there's a Texan named Anne. Anne was Vice President for an Austin company that borrowed too much. When the economy tanked, her company tanked too, closing its doors and leaving 88 people in the Austin-area -- one of the best economies in the country -- without a job. Without extended unemployment benefits, Anne says a difficult situation would have become disastrous situation. She has been unemployed for three years. Earlier this year, Anne said that of the 118 jobs for which she had applied, she had gotten 3 interviews. In two of those, employers said that she was overqualified. Unfortunately, being overqualified doesn't put food on the table, and doesn't keep a roof over your head.
If it weren’t for unemployment insurance, she says that she and her husband would have been unable to keep their home and purchase necessities to get by, including prescription medications. She is discouraged by the situation and remarked that the real shame is that her story is far too common. This scenario has played out in homes of millions of other people. It has happened to folks from Michigan, from New York and California. It has hit families in every state across our nation.
Don't Blame the Unemployed for Unemployment
We must work to create jobs. But we must not forget those who need this critical support while they search for one. Unfortunately, Republicans continue to blame unemployment on the unemployed, sounding a lot like the old 1950s doo-wop song by the Silhouettes called “Get a Job”— “Preaching and a crying” telling folks that they are “lying about a job that they never could find.” At a time when there are about five unemployed Americans for every job opening, it is clear that many people remain jobless not because of their lack of wanting to work—but a lack of work.
Congress has never allowed emergency unemployment benefits to expire when the unemployment rate is anywhere close to its current level of 9.1 percent. If this Republican Congress fails to act, more than two million Americans who lost their jobs through no fault of their own will lose their unemployment benefits by the middle of February, including 124,000 in Texas. More than 6 million will lose benefits during 2012.
What my bill would do
So today, I introduced legislation to do two things: continue the current federal unemployment programs through 2012, and for one year, provide some immediate assistance to states grappling with insolvency problems within their own UI programs. The legislation would relieve insolvent states from interest payments on federal loans for one year and place a one-year moratorium on higher federal unemployment taxes that are imposed on employers on states with outstanding loans. According to preliminary estimates, these solvency provisions will stop $5 billion in tax hikes on employers in nearly two dozen states, as we as provide $1.5 billion in interest relief. The legislation also provides a solvency bonus to those states not borrowing from the federal government.
Economists agree: extending unemployment benefits good for workers, good for economy
Despite what has become another talking point for Republicans and their “Jobless” agenda, there is near unanimity among economists that few government expenditures have more positive, stimulative effect on our economy than insurance payments to the unemployed, who use this lifeline to pay the bare necessities while they search for another job. A recent estimate from the Urban Institute says every dollar the federal government spends in federal unemployment generates two dollars of economic growth. The Economic Policy Institute has estimated that preventing UI benefits from expiring could prevent the loss of over 500,000 jobs.
The federal unemployment programs provided over $3 billion in benefits in Texas this year. Imagine the hit Texas would take if those benefits simply stopped, and along with it spending on milk, clothes, rent, mortgage and other basics.
Plug this hole in the safety net now
Creating jobs cannot happen overnight. We cannot pretend that there are enough jobs for everyone who wants one today. We cannot pretend that the unemployed can survive without this support. We cannot pretend that this is a problem for which there is no solution. This is the solution: We must extend federal unemployment insurance for those who need this critical support while they search for a job—and we must do it now.
This week from the think tanks, the narrative was that of an economy under stress, and attempting to recover from the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression. The report this month from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that while employment remained steady at 9.5% the private sector added only 71,000 jobs. While the employment rate is holding steady, the labor market is shrinking as more and more workers drop out of the labor force because they have been unable to find employment. What we can see from the latest reports is that while the government stimulus prevented the economy from falling into a second Great Depression, and according to a report from two leading economists without the stimulus the GDP in 2010 would be about 11.5% lower, and payroll employment would be less by some 8½ million jobs. However, despite this it is clear that the economy needs more economic stimulus and jobs programs to prevent the Great Recession to turn into the Great Depression.
"The primary reason the unemployment rate did not rise in July is that the labor force officially shrank by 181,000 workers. Those that dropped out of labor force were prime-age workers, while the number of young workers and older workers increased. The teen (age 16-19) labor force increased by 70,000, the young adult (age 20-24) labor force increased by 17,000, the prime-age (age 25-54) labor force decreased by 325,000, and older workers (age 55+) increased by 46,000. If the 181,000 workers that made up the decline had instead remained in the labor force and were counted among the unemployed, the unemployment rate in July would have been 9.6%. This points to another ongoing issue in the labor market, the backlog of "missing workers," that is, workers who dropped out of (or never entered) the labor force during the downturn. In the last three months, the labor force has declined by 1.2 million workers, reversing much of the 1.7 million increase in the labor force in the first four months of the year. This clearly shows how the forward momentum from earlier this year has largely evaporated."
This week the Congress passed a $34 billion dollar extension of benefits to Americans who have been out of work for more than 26 weeks, and these benefits where passed along party lines with the Republicans in the Senate blocking the benefits for weeks. Congressional Republicans argued that the benefits should not be passed unless a corresponding amount of budget cuts could be made, however, another argument that Republicans have offered is that unemployment benefits themselves are a disincentive to find work. At a time when long term unemployment is high than at any time since the Great Depression, and there are five workers applying for every one job these arguments seem ludicrous. The unemployment benefits will help 2 million struggling Americans, and the extension of benefits will last through November.
The idea that unemployment benefits will unacceptably add to the deficit is a relatively weak argument, considering that the fall in consumer demand if unemployment benefits are not extending in the long run will add more to the deficit in lack of tax revenue. Also, it seems a bit disingenuous for Republicans to lecture anyone on deficits or government spending. According to analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, significant causes of our current deficits where due to the 2001 and 2003 Bush Administration tax cuts (which by the way Republicans are still arguing doing not need to be paid for with corresponding cuts in the budget). The other idea that unemployment benefits are a disincentive for people to find employment is another weak argument when you consider that there are not enough jobs for American workers. What these arguments are about is plain and simply politics.
Can't anyone here play this game? Casey Stengel's lament as coach of the New York Mets comes to mind as the Democratic leadership plays Chicken Little. Loss of a single Senate race has thrown the Democrats into a tailspin. Can they pull out?
Small change
The difference between Coach Stengel and President Obama is that Obama got to pick his own team. Yet, after a campaign built on change, he continued in power the same old team: Gates at Defense, Geithner at Treasury, Bernanke at Fed. And they're making the same old plays: big bank bailouts; weak regulations; tepid economic stimulus; troop surge in Afghanistan; persecution of gays in the military; protection for torturers. The President shrugged off his own deadline for closing the un-American prison at Guantanamo.
After leading the nation in a chant of Yes we can, Mr. Obama has spent his first year in office showing that No, they can't. Now David Axelrod is offering the excuse that change is hard. When did they figure that one out?
President Obama has managed to lose his Democratic base and independent voters at the same time, while gaining not a single friend in the opposition. When the President should have shown leadership, he stayed on the sidelines. Where are we going?
You'll never guess what was number one on Prairie Dog Randy's wishlist this weekend. Ok, maybe you will. If you said, "Kneejerk tax cuts," then give yourself a big fat cookie. Apparently, everyone in Fisher County has better things to do than hear a Prairie Dog spout nonsense:
Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, spoke to 12 people, including his staff and news media, at the community center in Roby. Earlier Tuesday, he stopped in Rotan.
So, if we subtract his staff, who had to be there, and the news media, who were there to get a paycheck, we are talking about what - 2 people? Did anyone check their pulse? Did Randy wander into the morgue (again?)?
A recent release by The LONE STAR PROJECT
Fighting Back... With Facts:
(202) 547-7610 - Fax (202)547-8258
May 31, 2006 Contact: Matt Angle
On the web at www.LoneStarProject.net
This post is taken from their release:
Rick Perry Airs Misleading Ad
Facts Dispute Perry Claims
Last week, Rick Perry began airing a television ad bragging and taking credit for everything from tax cuts to teacher pay. The Lone Star Project analyzed the ad and found that it simply does not stand up to close scrutiny. Perry’s comments are consistently deceptive and incomplete.
A video “fact check” of the Perry ad can be viewed on the Lone Star Project website. We have also included a written transcript of the Perry ad with each claim “fact checked” by the Lone Star Project.
Perry Ad Fact Check Claim 1 - Deceptive
Rick Perry: A fifteen billion dollar tax cut and more money for our schools. We kept our promises to you. The average homeowner will receive a two thousand dollar tax cut.
Fact: The average Texas homeowner will receive only a $150 property tax cut this year.
Source:
“[John] Sharp [Perry appointed Chairman of the Texas Tax Reform Commission] said the owner of an average home, which he described as appraised at about $118,000, would save about $150 in property taxes in the first year.” (Source: Austin American-Statesman, Friday, May 26, 2006 )
Claim 2 – Deceptive and Incomplete
Rick Perry: Every teacher will receive a well deserved pay raise.
Fact: Texas Teachers will still be paid $4,000 less than the national average.
Source:
Average Salaries ($) of Public School Teachers, 2004–05
National Education Association
Rick Perry: We closed corporate loopholes
Fact: Big banks, insurance companies and large landowners will receive more than $800 million in tax cuts.
Source:
Texas Legislative Budget Board
Tax/Fee Equity Note HB1 and HB3
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Change in
Liability Under HB 1 [in $ Millions] -961.6 Change in
Liability Under HB 3 [in $ Millions] 160.1 Net Change in Liability Under HB1 and 3 [in $ Millions] -801.5
