Another Extension of Unemployment Benefits

[eeven73]

Good?
Bad?
Indifferent?

Discuss.

[BrentC5Z]

The longer you pay employees who don't work there, the longer it is to hire anyone back when things pick up...

[eeven73]

At some point "another 6 months" is going to have to end.

[goofyboy]

Maybe GOOD is not the right term. How about necessary. I know plenty of folks on unemployment that are looking for work - ANY work. Its not easy. As long as folks are trying, i have no issue paying them.

It is keeping the whole system from total collapse. At least they are still spending some money to eat, keep their home, power on. Also, as long as the cheats in Washington (Geitner and all his buddies in banking) keep getting money, so should the average American.

[eeven73]

[_bruky]

cool

[vicious]

You pay into un-employment insurance benefits while you are working, and those benefits are designed to last x ammount of time. At that point you're insurance has lapsed, and then you are using someone the benefits of someone else. I agree with the previous poster. Those who have been dismissed from our company were coasting, and believed that the company was there for them, and not the other way around. Those who realized that they were there to do a job and take the employers problems away are still employed. Sure, some people are truly suffering at this time, and I hope they can find something soon.

[STPHNSN23]

we're at a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't point. i have sympathy for those who were busting ass to keep a job and lost it, but i know a guy who makes more sitting on his couch collecting unemployment than he did working before his dad canned him for being worthless. when i see abuse of the system like that, i have a real hard time accepting even the ones who really are trying. it just sucks all the way around.

[intotheflats]

Where I live is very seasonal and I have a few friends that work from March-October and then collect unemployment during the offseason. As much as I hate it, it is necessary where we live. There is such a toursit draw to our area that there are jobs available for 6 months out of the year but once Labor day comes everyone starts cutting back because there is little or no business during the winter. Many places actually close up during the winter and then reopen once spring gets here.

I guess seasonal unemployment is different than what we're talking about here though.

[Wakebrad]

Part of the reason there is so much unrest is because the market is waiting for the other shoe to drop. The government has been propping up the economy for the last 2 years and everyone is weary of what will happen when they stop the money funnel.

When you need to remove a band-aid and know it's going to hurt, you do it quickly and get it over with. The more the government keeps propping up the economy the longer we prolong this period. For a history lesson look at the recession of 1920 compared to the Great Recession. The recession in 1920 was actually worse than what the Great Depression was but it was much shorter. The New Deal was directly responsible for prolonging the Great Depression and the economy didn't fully recover until WWII.

The fastest way to get a legitimate market back in place is to let market forces take over, correct the over-extension of credit, and then recover. Increased government spending only serves to delay the inevitable.

[joebananas]

Look out Greece here we come!

[Faust]

[_bruky]

cool

[J-Ro]

Employees do not technically pay into UI in general. States and employers pay when an employee is let go. After the 6 month timeline, the state and/or Feds can pay them through an extension which means that taxpayers pay it. It is a downward spiral since taxpayers pay in, govt. pisses away part of that on admin costs, then transfers the money to other citizens. Eventually it all goes to zero.

Many many studies have shown that extension of UI benefits extends unemployment times.

[eeven73]

[J-Ro]

eeven73, Countdown to Canadian opinion on American topic....3....2....1....

[_bruky]

J-Ro, it doesn't matter. You already summed it up.

[vicious]

_bruky Thanks for the insight. I believe government bloat is insane! As it continues to expand, the growing burden falls on the remainder of the working population, and I don't like that!

While I would utilize my UI benefits, I believe that there is a general lack of personal responsibility in our country. Very few think to put away something for what if's. I am still relatively young, but I have a little something set aside so that I could maintain for a while without the benefits. This is the same reason I am working on alternatives to social security. I believe that it will be VERY different when I am of retirement age, not to mention I want to retire before I die.

I understand that unemployment is supplemented, but I don't see any real way of extending it if less and less people are paying in.

[eeven73]

So, I was watching Meet the Press on Sunday(i know, i know) and Giethner said that with the cost of borrowing so low the US couldn't afford not to finance the cost of the extension of unemployment benefits.

Sounds alot like the consumer line of thinking of 03-08. Doesn't it?

[ontrider]

They should move the Unemployment Office from it's current location to Craigslist.

[_bruky]

ontrider wins quote of the day.

[Neognosis]

We know, though, that nearly every cent of an unemployment check is spent.

I also think it is not always the case that only useless or less talented personnel are let go during bad times.

I think some of you have some very BIG opinions based on some very small life experience.

[_bruky]

cool

[_bruky]

cool

[Wakebrad]

_bruky, you sure sound important

[_bruky]

cool

[ontrider]

[eeven73]

Upon further review it appears it doesn't apply to those past 99 weeks

[eich82]

After 99 weeks (pretty much 2 years), if you haven't found a job, extending unemployment any further isn't going to help you. You are probably either overestimating your value in the labor market and turning down/not applying for jobs you feel are "below you", or you're not looking hard enough for a job. At that point you either need to suck it up and get a job anywhere you can, or move to an area with a better economy, etc. Something has got to change and extending unemployment isn't going to facilitate that change.

[Wakebrad]

I know 3 people who could find work, but would be taking a pay-cut from unemployment to get a lesser job. They admit this, and I can't blame them.

It's just getting ridiculous at this point. It's like our economy is a 3 bedroom house resting on top of a 10 foot stack of quarters. If unaided unemployment at 10% is going to completely rock the economy, we have a major problem.

[eich82]

[pyrocasto]

Unfortunately the labor market got so wage inflated that people have come to expect a larger amount and think they are worth it. This is the time to realize that there are people who are worth a ton of money, and there are people who arent(a lot of times by choice ie: laziness). Some people should run businesses and others should work. Time for people to get knocked back down into reality, and the ones caught that are worth it will work back up to the top.

[Faust]

[Porterwake]

Win/lose here.

Like said, many people are abusing the system like my Mother. Some people need the system like a friend of mine who got fired after 20 years of loyal employment somewhere and is desparately looking for a job. Unfortunately for him supply of workers far exceeds demand.

[STPHNSN23]