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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Depending on extended unemployment benefits to see you through the Great Recession?You'd better not: The Senate failed to push back the Feb. 28 deadline to apply for this safety net.Starting Monday, the jobless will no longer be able to apply for federal unemployment benefits or the COBRA health insurance subsidy.Federal unemployment benefits kick in after the basic state-funded 26 weeks of coverage expire. During the downturn, Congress has approved up to an additional 73 weeks, which it funds.These federal benefit weeks are divided into tiers, and the jobless must apply each time they move into a new tier.Because the Senate did not act, the jobless will now stop getting checks once they run out of their state benefits or current tier of federal benefits.That could be devastating to the unemployed who were counting on that income. In total, more than one million people could stop getting checks next month, with nearly 5 million running out of benefits by June, according to the National Unemployment Law Project.Lawmakers repeatedly tried to approve a 30-day extension this week, but each time, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., prevented the $10 billion measure from passing, saying it needs to be paid for first."Right now, the 1.2 million workers who will lose benefits in March are being held hostage by partisan attempts to delay and block this critical legislation," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project.0:00 /3:58The challenges facing job growthSenate Democrats plan to introduce legislation this week that pushes back the deadline as much as a year, an aide said. The House approved a bill in December that extended the deadline to the end of June.Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said on "Fox News Sunday" that Republicans will support a temporary extension of the deadline this week. But he said there would be debate over how to pay for a more long-term extension, saying Republicans want to know how the government will pay for the extended benefits.Of course, once the measure is approved, the jobless would be able to reapply for federal benefits, though they would not receive missed payments.Critical checksAbout 11.5 million people currently depend on jobless benefits. Nearly one in 10 Americans are out of work and a record 41.2% have been unemployed for at least six months. The average unemployment period lasts a record 30.2 weeks.The unemployment rate, which now stand at 9.7%, is expected to rise in February as snowstorms in many states disrupted the economy and stalled hiring.While unemployment benefits now run as long as 99 weeks, depending on the state, not everyone will receive checks for that long a stretch if the deadline to apply is not extended.Those extended benefits are vital, experts said. While the economy is slowly recovering, hiring is expected to remain slow in coming years. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at about 10% this year, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and won't fall back to its 2008 level of 5.8% for another seven years."Those benefits will expire, but the need to heat their homes and put gas in their cars doesn't expire," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Friday. "Those benefits will expire, but the need to take their medicine, or support an aging parent, or take care of their children doesn't expire.Congressional gridlockThe jobless have anxiously watched from the sidelines as efforts to push back the deadlines took many twists and turns in recent weeks.The extensions were included in an $85 billion bipartisan job creation draft bill that was unveiled in the Senate earlier this month. But then Reid decided to introduce a slimmed-down version that stripped them out, forcing lawmakers to vote on them as a stand-alone measure this week.In order to speed the process along, the House on Thursday passed a bill extending the deadline to apply for unemployment insurance to April 5 and for COBRA benefits to March 28. That way, the Senate could have just approved the legislation and sent it directly to the president's desk.However, Bunning's continued objection blocked Senate approval of the bill Friday.This is not the first time unemployment insurance benefits -- which enjoy wide bipartisan support -- have fallen prey to politics. Last fall, the House approved adding up to 20 weeks to the federal benefits period. But it took seven weeks for the Senate to send it to the president's desk, during which time more than 200,000 people stopped receiving checks.When lawmakers finally took up the measure, it passed by a 98-0 vote.
He may be a dick, but there has to be someone on this forum that thinks what he did was good. I mean we have a lot of Ron Paul people.
Quote from: M Dogg on March 02, 2010, 04:10:37 PMHe may be a dick, but there has to be someone on this forum that thinks what he did was good. I mean we have a lot of Ron Paul people.I didn't have time to read the article, but as a Libertarian I definitely don't support the government being given the power to steal from people who do work to pay people who don't work. See, MDogg seems to believe that Barack Obama and them just reach into their pocket and give because they are so generous, and that the money that the government gives is out of generosity and for the common good of everyone. And if the government would only just give more, more in health care, more security, give more jobs, and just give and give and give, the world would be a better place.The problem is, the money doesn't come out of the politicians pockets and it doesn't come from the sky, it is THEFT, it is STEALING and we all pay for it one way or another.
What sucks is that the smallest fucking entitlement programs are the ones that keep on getting fucked over and debated the most. Meanwhile, you have god damn fighter jets being made over the limit just because the Representative in that district fought for the right to keep people employed in his district. That's a bigger concern in my opinion.
Quote from: Javier on March 08, 2010, 09:44:26 PMWhat sucks is that the smallest fucking entitlement programs are the ones that keep on getting fucked over and debated the most. Meanwhile, you have god damn fighter jets being made over the limit just because the Representative in that district fought for the right to keep people employed in his district. That's a bigger concern in my opinion. You can thank MDogg's man Obama for that too. In his state of the Union address he proposed the idea on a spending freeze of everything BUT MILITARY SPENDING. lol
You really can't blame the President though, the MIC has become way bigger than any President can change basically. Obama is an integral thinker and it's difficult to fuck with military spending and not have a huge backlash from the majority of the American people.
Quote from: Javier on March 09, 2010, 12:56:48 PMYou really can't blame the President though, the MIC has become way bigger than any President can change basically. Obama is an integral thinker and it's difficult to fuck with military spending and not have a huge backlash from the majority of the American people. 453 Billion- Bush Sr. Military Budget377 Billion- Clinton's Military Budget496 Billion-- Bush Jr.'s Military Budget^^^So Clinton was able to reduce military spending. So now tell me why can't Obama?
It has nothing to do with public opinion, the lobbyists control the policies inside Washington, do you think they would lobby hundreds of billions each year if it wasn't successful in their aims?However as for benefits, infinite it's bullshit if you honestly think that social spending is the cause of the plight, the amount that is spent on benefits etc is small fry compared to what is stolen. The people are being fucked, if it wasn't for food stamps for instance then millions would die of starvation and if you think that's liberty, well give me tyranny.For if your viewpoint was taken literally it would mean liberty for the few and hell for everyone else.
Right, but it's the lobbyists who then drive everything we and see and hear as far as policies are concerned
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