January 2nd, 2011, Michael Danielson  Who in this great country has the gall to suggest that the Tier 5 unemployment extension — the only political tool that can keep almost 2% of the country from ending up homeless or dead — isn’t worth the investment? At $110 billon per year, a paltry expense in comparison to some of the relief packages the current Administration has passed, the Tier 5 unemployment extension could be paid for in a fairly wide variety of ways, including by using the same deficit spending that currently funds Tiers 1-4. But there are wealthy people in this world who have found a way to profit off of the poverty of the rest of America, and they intend to keep it that way. → Read More January 1st, 2011, Michael Danielson  The recession officially ended in October of 2009, but if you ask the millions of American’s very-long-term unemployed — the 99ers, whose cause is the passage of a Tier 5 unemployment extension — the recession is still going strong for middle class America. Occasionally, a 99er pops up on the cable news cycle here or there, or one gets interviewed for an NPR piece here or there, but by and large, the mainstream media is curiously silent about this downtrodden slice of the People. So who are the 99ers? According to various estimates, there are somewhere between 1.5 and 7.4 million 99ers in the country, but no one knows precisely how many because no one officially counted them until this month. Next month’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports will be the first to have an estimate of the number of 99ers in the country. → Read More December 27th, 2010, Michael Colliss  This is the second in our ongoing series on how we should continue to press for a Tier 5 expansion of unemployment insurance. A key in this effort will be to insure that local media provides continual and above all accurate coverage of the crisis presented to American society by the lack of support for the 99ers. It is absolutely true that the road to a Tier 5 only exists through both Houses of the U.S. Congress. Media coverage by itself cannot create a Tier 5. But it can create an environment that will gain attention of the Members of Congress. How to get this coverage is the subject of this article Perhaps it would be helpful to define what “local media” means. The fact of the matter is that coverage in the newspaper in a local paper or local television or radio show is going to get your Congressman’s attention much more then a segment on network news, or a mention of the 99ers on a cable news program → Read More December 25th, 2010, Michael Colliss  As we begin to gear up for the next chapter in the effort to gain attention to the leaders in Washington for those that lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and who despite their best efforts, have still not found a job, and have exhausted all benefits available we need to consider what is probably the first – and some would say the essential – step of education of the public If one looks at the major changes brought about by legislation in the past 120 years of American history, they only occurred if and when that Franklin D. Roosevelt called “an aroused citizenry” which understood the problems and supported change to deal with them. The 112th Congress will constitute itself on January 5, – less than two weeks – and those that advocate for the 99er’s must use the time before (and after) the start of the new Congress to educate the general public with true and accurate information about the unemployment crisis. → Read More December 23rd, 2010, Michael Colliss  My fellow Massachusetts man, John Adams, once said “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” Millions and millions of Americans who lost their job through no fault of their own and who having exhausted (or are about to exhaust) their benefits are coming to terms with the stubborn fact that, with the final adjournment of the 111th Congress no immediate help is coming for the long term unemployed. Many of those who have exhausted their benefits and still remain unemployed – the 99er’s – are understandably becoming more and more despondent, wondering if there is anyone in power that understands and cares about their situation. → Read More December 20th, 2010, Michael Colliss  The internet was abuzz with rumors and speculation on Monday with news that Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D, CA) has announced that she will introduce a bill – presumably on Tuesday, December 21 – that will add 14 weeks to Tier 1, weeks that, or so she said, would allow those who had exhausted all benefits to also access these 14 weeks of benefits. Many 99ers’ – desperate for help – have triumphantly announced that this is the help that they have been waiting for and are urging “immediate” passage. Some have even said, “It was in the bag.” Anyone who has read the author’s articles on this site will realize that he has been a tireless advocates of and expansion of the number of weeks available to those who lost their job through no fault of their own and have been unable to find a job in the worst job market in generations. This fight has not ended and will resume when the 112th Congress assembles on January 5. → Read More December 2nd, 2010, Michael Colliss  The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment aid rose last week by a 26,000 to 436,000. This figure refers to individuals filing claims for the first time. Thursday’s report also showed that the number of people continuing to collect state unemployment aid rose to 4.3 million for the week ending Nov. 20. That doesn’t include millions of additional people on extended unemployment programs that were set up during the recession. Overall, 8.9 million people are receiving jobless aid, including 4.9 million that are doing so through the federally funded extended benefit programs. The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Nov. 13 was 8,909,882. → Read More November 30th, 2010, Michael Colliss  As expected, the Democratic sponsors put forward a motion to pass The Unemployment Insurance Stabilization Act of 2010 Senate Bill 3981 under a unanimous consent motion late in the afternoon of Tuesday, November 30. This motion would have immediately passed this bill that would have extended eligibility for Tiers 1 through 4 of federal unemployment extensions to January 3, 2010. To no one’s surprise, Senator Scott Brown, (R, MA) speaking for the Republican majority objected to this unanimous consent motion so it did not proceed to a vote. → Read More |
