Many see the Labor Day Holiday as the official beginning of the campaign season leading up to the November 2 mid-terms, and aides to President Obama say that his attention will be focused squarely on the economy. At some point, Obama will offer specifics on the proposals his economic team is considering. They are said to include a payroll tax holiday for businesses, something economists have said could provide an immediate stimulus to the economy. There has been no indication that the economic plans the President will push for will include anything to do with unemployment insurance. With the current federal extensions due to expire on November 30 and millions of those who have lost their job through no fault of their own hoping for a Tier 5, this will certainly be a disappointment to millions.
Obama will travel to two states next week, and also plans on introducing a package of new ideas to bolster a all but stalled economy that is hampering his party’s hopes for retaining the House and Senate. Obama will mark Labor Day by speaking in Milwaukee at an AFL-CIO sponsored picnic. He’ll then travel to Ohio on Wednesday to make remarks on the economy. Obama will conclude the week with a press conference on Friday.
In remarks delivered on September 3 after the release of the latest report from the Labor Department showing unemployment growing, Obama focused on a small business tax cut and loan program, currently in the Senate, the center-point of his immediate economic efforts. Obama said a recovery is taking place, but not at the speed he’d hope. “That’s why we need to take further steps to create jobs and keep the economy growing, including extending tax cuts for the middle class and investing in the areas of our economy where the potential for job growth is greatest,” Obama said Friday. “In the weeks ahead, I’ll be discussing some of these ideas in more detail.” The President did not mention unemployment insurance.
A USA Today/Gallup poll release last week showed Republicans in a commanding lead in key races which could well mean the Democrats could lose control of the House of Representatives and might see a greatly diminished Democratic majority in the Senate as well. The President and his economic team are clearly searching for legislation that can be passed in the brief legislative period due to begin on September 14 that will have a simulative effect.
A poll released on Friday found President Obama’s approval rating on the economy dipping to a new low; a CNN/Opinion Research survey showed the public disapproves of the way the president has handled the economy, 59-40 percent. Obama’s approval rating on the economy has steadily slipped since last September, amid high unemployment and mixed signs the economy is emerging from its deep recession.
The lack of a White House push on unemployment insurance benefits has been a continual source of frustration for both the unemployed and unemployment advocates and may well be a sign that the White House has decided to abandon the issue as one that cannot be won in the short time left for Congress to act.
It is generally agreed by most economists that unemployment insurance benefits, because they are spent quickly are perhaps the most simulative step that can be taken to prop up a sagging economy, but steadfast Republican opposition to unemployment extensions may be considered by the White House to present an insurmountable burden in the weeks ahead.
While reports coming from Capitol Hill have indicated that senior Democratic staffers are attempting to come up with some way to both extend the existing benefits and perhaps even add 16 weeks to the EB level available in many states, it is generally agreed that is such a concept has any chance of proceeding, it would have to be one fully offset by other cuts in federal spending. It is emphasized that there is no bill that has been contains these provisions that has been introduced, and many Democrats are not sure that any unemployment insurance legislation will pass in any form before the November 2 election. Although bills have been introduced in both the Senate and the House, both of these bills have been referred to committees and no action is pending on these bills in the respective committees let alone bringing them to a vote before the end of the year. Still, senior Democratic leaders have been urging their staff to try and come up with something that will deal with unemployment insurance, either before the election (which would certainly help garner support in the November 2 midterms) or in a “lame duck session” to be held after the elections, something that may be even more difficult if the Republicans see significant victories in the election.
Once again, Americans who lost their job through no fault of their own and who are waiting for some action on both unemployment extensions and a Tier 5 are asking, “Where are you Mr. President?”
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Michael, I just want to point out that you, and all Democrats, continually say that the Republicans are against extending unemployment benefits… this is entirely untrue.
They haven’t been against extending unemployment benefits in the least. They have only been against the methods the Dems have proposed to pay for them.
(Also, weren’t most of these Tiers proposed, and some passed, during W. Bush’s 2nd term?)
Plus, the Republicans have continually offered up amendments or companion Bills to fund the extensions, only to have the Dems either vote them down or table them.
When it comes to the bottom line, it truly has been the unwillingness of the Dems to work with the GOP to pass benefits extensions (or anything for that matter). So the Dems have really been the Obstructionist.
And now that the Dems have finally woken up and seen that they are going to lose big time in the midterms, they are now trying to work with the GOP. I think they waited until it is too late. The GOP isn’t going to help them gain votes for midterms now.
Which, IMO, means we, the people in need of unemployment benefits, are pretty screwed until probably February at the earliest.
Fred.
At the risk of introducing reality into this discussion, I point out the following.
Federal extensions of unemployment are not unique to this recession, and in fact have been passed when the Democrats controlled Congress and when the Republicans controlled Congress. They have been passed when there was a Republican in the White House and when there was a Democrat in the White House. They have been used as tools to not only help those that lost their job through no fault of their own but also as a very effective stimulus.
They have been used since 1961.
These routinely passed and were considered emergency spending in the sense that there were no offsets required on other federal spending. This was a routine measure. This was done when the Republicans controlled congress.
Now, for the first time since 1961 the Republicans have – in the last three times that this has come up and only during the Presidency of Barack Obama – insisted that they not be considered emergency spending and almost all Republicans (with the exception of a few) have insisted that even though when they controlled Congress and considered them emergency spending, now they are not.
Incidentally, these are the same Republicans who had no problem with running two wars without offsets and now are fighting like rouge elephants to extend the Bush era tax cuts, which would reduce revenue to the U.S. Treasury by 1.34 trillion dollars, and of course they do not maintain that there be corresponding offsets for this defect increasing measure. (Which is about 20 times the cost of a extensions according to calculations by Nobel Prize winner for economics Paul Krugman.) Of course the Republicans say that really it is not increasing the deficit by extending the Bush era tax cuts (which benefit about 10% of the wealthiest Americans) because it is not spending. This is just plain word games. Extension of the Bush tax cuts will mean less money coming into the Treasury with no corresponding cut to accommodate this revenue. It is a deficit increaser and those who maintain otherwise simply do not understand – or have taken the time to learn – the mechanics of the budget of the U.S. Government
So, increasing the deficit when George W. Bush is President is OK, but now all of a sudden they have found religion on deficits and where to they target this newly discovered aversion to deficits? Of course, the unemployed who lost their job through no fault of their own.
I agree that reasonable people can disagree on if unemployment extensions should be offset, but for the Republicans to use the unemployed as their target for concern for deficits is, to put it mildly, disingenuous.
I know that the Republicans say that are in favor of unemployment extensions. They always say that. But saying and doing are two different things. In the opinion of many – and I count myself among them – the Republican leadership has made the calculated choice to let the economy get as bad as it can by opposing any stimulative measure because they believe that this will help them in the polls at the mid-terms.
So, I stand by my assertion that the Republicans (with exceptions) have opposed unemployment extensions, because the voting record supports this. Saying you are for something is one thing but voting in the entirely opposite way is all that matters at the end of the day.
Michael
Michael, when it comes to adding additional weeks of benefits, the last bill that was voted on was HR 3548, which added Tiers 3 & 4. It passed the Senate with a vote of 98 to 0 (with 2 Dems not voting). It passed the House with 104 of the 170 GOPs voting in favor of it. It was then signed into law on 11/6/09 (PL 111-92).
So you aren’t telling the truth when it comes to the GOP voting Yes under Bush, but No under Obama. The last Bill that actually added weeks of benefits clearly had GOP approval, actually 100% GOP approval in the Senate, and this took place 11 months into Obama’s term.
Starting in 2010, the GOP has fought against extending the filing deadlines. But this appears to be nothing more than a campaign ploy for midterms. The GOP has also introduced alternate ways of having these extensions paid for, mostly by using existing Stimulus funds, only to have their options tabled, i.e., just dismissed by the Dems.
The Dems have shown no signs of even trying to compromise on anything with the GOP in 2010, until, as you reported, a couple days ago. Which entirely appears to be a last ditch effort to gain some support for midterms.
Neither Party has even tried to introduce a Tier 5 Bill until the Senator Stabenow did right before recess, and Congresswoman Berkley did during recess (and both Bills appear to be “go nowhere” Bills). Because of this, you can’t say the Dems have been going out of their way to help the 99ers or even extend filing deadlines. They have been very re-active instead of pro-active.
And the GOP definitely hasn’t blocked anything that would help the 99ers, considering there has been anything to vote for or against.
Again, I have to point out, that if the Dems have been willing to work with the GOP at all, the last deadline extension, HR 4213, most likely would have gained some GOP support (more than just the 2 votes the Dems needed). But the Dems weren’t willing to compromise anything at all.
Because of the Dems lack of wiliness to compromise that they have taken, how can anyone say that the GOP is 100% at fault? Are they just supposed to support whatever Bills the Dems introduce and not have any say in it? That isn’t the way our government was set up to work. Yet, the GOP gets bashed on because of this and nicknamed The Party of No.
I think all the anti-Republicans need to open their eyes and see the actions the Democrats have taken which has led to the Republicans doing what they have done.
That “blind eye” that Dan speaks of works both ways.
Fred,
You wrote”
“So you aren’t telling the truth when it comes to the GOP voting Yes under Bush”
First of all it hardly seems helpful to call me a liar and I do not appreciate it.
I was referring to extensions. Not additional weeks
Again, I understand I may be, in your opinion, mistaken but to call me a liar implies that I am in some sort of plot to misrepresent the truth. I find that extremely offensive and unworthy of you
Michael, your words of “At the risk of introducing reality into this discussion” implies that I was not telling the truth. Which is basically calling me a liar too.
Also, when you say “federal extensions of unemployment”, without any further clarification, one would assume you mean extensions of both extending weeks of benefits and extending filing deadlines (in other words, all Bills about unemployment benefits).
If I understand you correctly, you’ve now clarified that to just mean extending filing deadlines. If that is the case, there were no Bills to extend filing deadlines passed during Bush’s terms. So how could the GOP vote Yes under Bush and No under Obama?
The two Bills passed during Bush’s time extended weeks of benefits.
I understand that all political articles will more than likely be biased, but I believe that you are conveniently leaving out information just to make the GOP look bad. Which, on a slight scale is part of being biased, but I think you have taken it a lot farther than being biased (especially in your comments). This is what led me to saying that you weren’t telling the truth.
there is always one trait that republicans have it’s the the fact that they see what they want to see and don’t care what is true ,your comment was almost not worth respoding to deffending bush the man who created this deficet in the first place the day he took office we had the biggest surplus in history and the best economy ever and he still managed to get us in this mess .when are you middle class republicans going to realize the republicans dont care at all about you until they need your vote if your not rich then saying your a republican is like saying your an idiot myself im a independent but i woulnt vote republican now not since reagan ruined the great thing us middle classpeople had since the late 40′s we could buy a house and if we wanted sell it for a profit in 2 yrs and our wages went up not down , people used to say until regan realestate will never go down well it did under reagan ,bush and under bush.under clinton my wages doubled in 5 yrs and my house finaly was worth in 2003 what it had been worth in 1986 get a grip
Dan..
May I ask who your comment was directed to, myself or Fred?
Dan, that “blind eye” works both ways and you obviously have a Democratic blind eye. Especially considering that the “biggest surplus in history” never existed.
You can’t have a surplus if you also added to the Deficit. In every single year of Clinton’s term, he added to the Deficit. To the total sum of $1.4 Trillion.
Saying Clinton had a surplus is the equivalent of borrowing money, so now you have plenty of cash, and calling that a surplus.
These are facts that aren’t debatable and that you can look up at http://www.treasurydirect.gov
I seem to be only one making comments so here I go again. All the plans the President has in mind still revolve around businesses. That is great if you have a business but how is it really helping us middle class now who have no jobs and no money and no help to survive NOW? His plan MAY cause businesses to hire but if the masses do not have money to spend on anything then the businesses are not making money either and thus will not be hiring any time soon either. So once again only business gets the help not the guy who really needs it. He should be pushing for extensions as we are the ones who would be spending it and adding to the economy and that would be immediate not a gamble that would take time to get moving. the longer we have to be without money the further we fall behind and then we will be added to other state aid if we qualify so by not helping the unemployed it is just making it worse. In 2 months there will be even more unemployed falling off the records and will become 99ers as well. Then what is our country going to do when more are still unemployed and more not buying anything and more losing their houses and everything. It is sad that the little guy always loses and business whether big or small always wins.Once again this situation sucks for us.
Susan
While I do think that some of the proposals we are hearing about may in fact help increase employment in the long run, I agree that people do not need to pay their rent, and put food on the table and survive in “the long run” The need this assistance now.
I continue to hope that those that support renewal of the existing tiers of benefits due to expire on 11/30/10 and a Tier 5 will continue to make their position known again and again to their elected leaders. The Democrats are worried – and the most recent polls support this worry – that they may well loose control of the House i the midterms. Good! Let them be concerned and let the people who lost their job through no fault of their own and who do not need solutions in the “long term” but help now let them know that they will have a hard time getting their vote unless they attend to what I believe is turning out to be – in terms of unemployment – a recession as great as the Great Depression – the needs of those who lost their job through no fault of their own.
No extension or Tier 5 before NOvember 3rd—-no vote for Dems or Repub incumbents..
They better get a pair and deal with THAT realization. Bottom line.
30 million Americans PLUS their spouse, family members of voting age, and friends seeing them suffer….that is a HUGE block of votes.
The suffering? THAT is not forgiven. Families have been split, suicides, loss of homes….NO, no forgiving or forgetting this.
Sleep with your secretary, be gay, not pay taxes until caught…this can be forgiven. No UI benefits, and no jobs…THAT will be remembered for years to come.
THEY HAVE SCREWED WITH AMERICAN FAMILIES this time.
Either they support us like they did with the banks, or get the hell out. We will put someone in who will.
NO TIER 5, NOW STOP WRITING LENGTHY BLOGS AND START JOB HUNTING, HIT THE BRICKS FREDDY THE FREELOADER
So, what does a person, do? Do we wait on the washington dc people, to help, ya right, this madness is becoming a very huge problem, so come nov. 30 if ya are on a tier, bang, your done, tier # 5 cant get approved, so why even bring this up, with tax cuts, again railroading, unemployment, with more shit, can’t these suits, say!!! let’s pass a unemployment bill, so in june, the demo’s gave up, lot’s of piggyed backed bills, one was the dec. 30–deadline, –so now nov 30, so any bill passed, wont be till next year, is this the info we need to hear, then on fox new’s i hear 14 million unemployed– basically 16 million, in my book! Now unemployement, has ticked up a notch, well this ticking will happen each month, each week, now what??? Add more people to the roll’s La tee da dc grose
No kidding!
MIKE CHECK OUT YOUR E MAIL……THAT PICTURE WOULD A NICE TOUCH TO YOUR NEXT ARTICAL ON HOW HARD THEY ARE WORKING TO FIX THINGS
In my emails to the White House I continue to urge Obama to step-up and provide leadership that we can get behind and follow. I fear he is so stuck on his “quote on quote” bi-partisan schtick that he has squandered his original mandate. If he doesn’t turn this around quickly he will wind up as you suggest, like Carter, and be a one term memory.
That is true. What are the president’s advisors thinking anyway ? Making speeches saying that things are tough but are improving, is not the reality for the families I know.
How about telling Americans, including the millions who voted for him, that help is on the way now, September 2010, and not two years from now !
Getting anyone in Washington to acknowledge and discuss the time they may have stole a cap gun from the local ten cent store. They know its there, but by not talking about it, it just might go unnoticed.
And the Bottom Line? Tier 5 is similar to the time that some of our Senators or Congressmen may have caught V.D. in Mexico (or South Central L.A.) during their collge years. It only cost them about three dollars to catch it, and it only cost about three thousand to get rid of it. Our current Economic ills only cost tax payers $300 million to get it, and it will probably cost $300 billion to cure it. But what the heck? We all have to die of some ailment sometime anyway, Right?
I didn’t know President Obama was not wanting a second term in office. This is a sure way of thinking on his part to get this accomplished.
Congress is nothing but a bunch of ASS HOLES !!
What money we get—-goes back into the economy within 1 week.
Yet, we “piss away” TRILLIONS of $$$$$$$’s to fight wars in other countries, give $$$$$’s to countries that,in return, spit on us, and give billions of $$$$$$’s to aid disaster victims (in OTHER countries.
We HAVE (WHILE EMPLOYED) PAID OUR TAXES—-so, it’s time (for once) TO HELP OUT THE AMERICANS!!!!!
AMEN!!!!!!
exactly, where are you mr pres ,oboma doesn’t seem to get it if you look back at his career he got to be president by haveing alot of people like him he needs to forget about all that bull and start beeeing much more agressive about things like tier 5 and others the republicans are playing games with our country like kids wanting to win a baseball game,look bush who is a half wit,alowed sept 11th to happen not on purpose ,started two good for nothing wars ,created the biggest deficet in history all while having a republican minority in congress. oboma has a majority and still cant help the unemployed and be more proactive as far as stimulating the economy .I think oboma is an intelligent man who would make a good president in normal times but htese are not normal times hes a guy who wants to be liked and thats isnt gonna work when the country is in the crapper. he needs to step on some toes and do whats right and realize he will never get any help from the republicans so what i would do if i was him is use your executive order powers like bush did hey bush was going to iraq with or without our permission well oboma should help us with or without the republicans permission and you know what once the republican see the country is behind him they will have no choice but to get behind him or loose seats ,we need A modern roosevelt RIP
As far as I can see Obama has been of no help to the unemployed or democrats. He is a closet republican as bad or worse than Bush, only helping big business, banks and the elite. If the republicans win in the elections, I think Obama will be secretly happy and he will then complete the destruction of the democratic party. So if they don’t pass a tier 5 before the elections they never will and us long time unemployed are doomed. If tier 5 is not passed before elections I say we should all vote republican or tea party and let the whole middle class be doomed with us. This way maybe there will be a revolt or at least a chance in 2012 to elect a slightly less corrupt President and congress.
I have voted for Democrats and Republicans in my lifetime. I would say that i am registered as a Democrat. I am currently very unhappy with both parties and in the process of changing my vote come November. After being unemployed for two years you start to get weary of all the BS coming out of Washington. You start to lose faith in the people you vote for. America is changing and I hope it can get back to what it used to be. I hope I see that change.
THEY ARE MAKING PEOPLE THINK ”NO MORE UNEMPLOYMENT” WATCH HOW FAST THEY GET JOBS……. ITS LIKE A TOUGH LOVE TACTIC……. THINK ABOUT IT……………… DO YOU REALLY THINK AFTER NOVEMBER 30 NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL BE OFF UNEMPLOYMENT….WITH MILLIONS TO FOLLOW WEEK AFTER WEEK……. IMPOSSIBLE THEY WILL GIVE A TIER 5 ITS COMMON SENSE…….. ITS A TOUGH LOVE GAME THE GOVERMENT IS PLAYING……….DEEP DOWN THEY KNOW BIGGER PROBLEMS ARE COMMING WHEN MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE NO MONEY……..JUST THINK ABOUT IT……AND REMEMBER THESE WORDS AFTER TIER 5 PASSES…..
Reply
Solution to unemployment:
Do away with the minimum wage law.
The unemployed can get back to work and the economy can start to recover.
Are you kidding?!
I can’t get a job at minimum wage…which I have applied for 100′s…even though I could NEVER survive on it anyway! How would that help the working class? Companies could pay what $5.00 an hour or less? How does that help us?? Sure it makes it look like more jobs are out there…so what? The rich get richer and we get nothing still!!!
Exactly how dense have we become. Nothing is going to happen until after the November election period. I strongly feel the GOP is going to win big this next election cycle. And at this point I do not see the dems doing anything that will change it. They have lost the will to do anything to help especially the 99ers. And at the end of the day November 2nd the GOP will own this mess that they themselves created. Do whatever you can to hold on until election day folks. I know how hard its going to be to hold on but we must. Personally I want nothing more then to see the GOP fall under its own greed. The GOP is offering nothing that will make a difference other than to make the big Corp money and the rich keep the their riches. We already know what that will do and has done. Once owned by the GOP they will fall folks because they have nothing to offer. Its like watching a circular firing squad, thats fun all by itself. A country so divided won’t stand folks. And this country has never been so divided as it is today. It has become the haves and have nots and the divide will become much wider with each passing day.
i’m homeless. use my laptop and free wifi to submit for home depot, staples, costco, target, etc.. i have excellent education, construction licenses. i’m 45. single dad. i’m glad my kids all have places to stay. my oldest son lost his job. paid my unemployment INSURANCE my entire life. it appears that my INSURANCE company has screwed me over. nothing new. i’ll keep going. i’ll be ready for the American Revolution when it starts. piracy souns great. not a new idea. do something wrong to achieve what is right. our founding fathers created a country with that one idea! i’m ready