Is Unemployment the new Welfare? (bankrupt, insurance, tier, credit)

[jimhcom]

Congress is now in the process of extending unemployment benefits until after the end of the year. Is unemployment becoming the new welfare? While it makes sense to have a program to help workers in times of unemployment, when is the time to end it? 2 years seems way too long. Many people are just going to accept the fact that the economy is not returning to where it was and either accept lower paying jobs or become retrained to do something else. The burden of unemployment and a food stamp program with nearly 40 million recipients in addition to 2 wars are driving up deficits at an alarming rate. Politicians are bankrupting the country to buy votes. It is time to stop throwing good money after bad and begin to do what is best for the country as a whole.

[Philip T]

Speaking of throwing money away . . . .

How 'bout we dump the Wars-Wars-Wars . . . . FIRST?

How many years has THAT nonsense been going on?

Talk about welfare.

[evilnewbie]

I see your point... and you are right, at some point it isn't unemployment any more, it becomes welfare and 2 years IS too long... the government should just tell people, its tough but you are no longer on unemployment, I suggest you collect welfare at this point...

[Padgett2]

Welfare... you mean taking money, by the way of taxes, out of my pocket and putting it in someone else's?

Anything you get from government is Welfare, no matter what you call it. So in the long run, unemployment is welfare from the first check to the last. It really doesn't matter. It came from tax money.

And, yes, I think Social Security is a form of welfare. When my husband retired in 1995, we got a printout of all that he had paid in. By the end of 8 months, he had received all of that amount back. That means that someone else has paid out enough in payroll tax to pay his way for about 15 years. If I hadn't earned my own check, we would get half of his amount as my share. If that isn't living in another person's wallet, I don't know what is.

[molochai2580]

What is in congress now, isn't what you think. It only extends the cutoff dates to get onto the tiers. It doesn't add additional weeks. 99 weeks is still the maximum that can be reached on unemployement, and in some states even less. What they are doing is allowing those that were laid off later, the same amount of weeks to get back on their feet as the people who were unemployed earlier, since the job market is still rough.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by jimhcom

Congress is now in the process of extending unemployment benefits until after the end of the year. Is unemployment becoming the new welfare? While it makes sense to have a program to help workers in times of unemployment, when is the time to end it? 2 years seems way too long. Many people are just going to accept the fact that the economy is not returning to where it was and either accept lower paying jobs or become retrained to do something else. The burden of unemployment and a food stamp program with nearly 40 million recipients in addition to 2 wars are driving up deficits at an alarming rate. Politicians are bankrupting the country to buy votes. It is time to stop throwing good money after bad and begin to do what is best for the country as a whole.

Some one made a good point about wasteful wars.

But, I wonder, if it is demonstrated that - through the disastrous credit and housing policies of the past ten years or so, among other blunders like transportation policy (main reason for foreign oil wars) - the US economy has actually destroyed resources instead of adding value, wouldn't it have been better to focus on the country's agricultural prowess, build simple barracks for deadbeats, feed them, and keep them occupied with video games rather than to have wasted so many resources on energy-guzzling transportation and faux luxury housing to transport and house these same deadbeats for wasteful, make-work paper-pushing jobs?

A while ago they had bread and circus, maybe there was a good reason for it.

[k374]

first, how about we stop giving money to the white collar criminals at Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Then we will talk about cutting unemployment benefits.

[jimhcom]

Originally Posted by molochai2580

What is in congress now, isn't what you think. It only extends the cutoff dates to get onto the tiers. It doesn't add additional weeks. 99 weeks is still the maximum that can be reached on unemployement, and in some states even less. What they are doing is allowing those that were laid off later, the same amount of weeks to get back on their feet as the people who were unemployed earlier, since the job market is still rough.

I am reading about petitions being submitted to Congress to implement a Tier 5 for unemployment. What then Tier 6, then 7? Don't get me wrong I am not against unemployment insurance. People and their employers pay into it and have a right to access it when it is needed, but to keep extending it on the taxpayers back for years because they do not want to accept employment at a lower level is wrong.

[LeavingMA]

I know that there isn't an oversupply of jobs out there, but at what point does this become ridiculous especially for those people that do work and pay taxes. I know people who have no shame and are riding the unemployment benefits and will do so until they have no more. Then, they will finally look for a job. I know others who don't care if they are laid off because they can get money without working.

This sets up a bad system, just like welfare.

[jimhcom]

Originally Posted by k374

first, how about we stop giving money to the white collar criminals at Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Then we will talk about cutting unemployment benefits.

I am not in favor of corporate welfare and have written posts about it. I am unclear though why someone would think one justified the other.