That recession may be coming to an end for Wall Street, but for millions of Americans it is about to get much worse:
Over the coming months, as many as 1.5 million jobless Americans will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits, ending what for some has been a last bulwark against foreclosures and destitution. […]
Tens of thousands of workers have already used up their benefits, and the numbers are expected to soar in the months to come, reaching half a million by the end of September and 1.5 million by the end of the year, according to new projections by the National Employment Law Project, a private research group.
Unemployment insurance is now a lifeline for nine million Americans, with payments averaging just over $300 per week, varying by state and work history. While many recipients find new jobs before exhausting their benefits, large numbers in the current recession have been unable to find work for a year or more. […]
Traditionally, many economists have been leery of prolonged unemployment benefits because they can reduce the incentive to seek work. But that should not be a concern now because jobs remain so scarce, said Lawrence Katz, a labor economist at Harvard.
For every job that becomes available, about six people are looking, Dr. Katz said. “Unemployment insurance gives income to families who are really suffering and can’t find work even if they are hustling to look,” he said.
Well, maybe we should just get rid of the socialistic safety net all together. Survival of the fittest, right? Government is such a parasite. Except for defense spending, of course. Can’t have enough of that. And if all those bums really wanted to find a job, they could. It’s just that they are so lazy and coddled. I say let them sell apples and pencils in the streets before they get one more cent of my tax dollars. Hey, if it was good enough for Grandma and Grandpa in the Depression, it should be good enough for these layabouts.
Unfortunately, some of those socialistic fascist Democrats want to continue to oppress us taxpayers by voting for an extension of unemployment benefits. The commie bastards!
Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington and chairman of the House Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, said he would introduce a bill in September to provide yet another 13 weeks of coverage in states with unemployment rates of 9 percent or higher. “Legislators will line up quickly when they start getting calls from desperate constituents,” he said in a telephone interview.
It’s tyranny, I tell you! Time to go Galt!
