Unemployment Benefits: Is It Simply a Political Maneuver?

The current financial situation in the country is not moving at all, it’s not getting worse but it’s not getting any better too. There are millions jobless Americans and the others are wearing two workwear uniforms in order to make ends meet. They may wear a different discount uniforms during the day and a different one on a night. Although retail hiring has increased in time for the holidays, still there are sometime more than four people competing for a single job. The benefits are not so good in the first place with an average of $300 a week, but beggars can be choosers. At least it would be enough to keep your family afloat and that’s why breadwinners sometimes find other jobs even if it means wearing a two different workwear uniforms during the day and the night.

The news regarding the unemployment benefits does not come up as a good one for the working population who still fear losing their jobs. More than 2 million unemployed Americans will lose their unemployment benefits after the Congress failed to pass an extension last Tuesday. It will leave them without the much needed checks that help pay their rents or buy food. They are already struggling to hold on to their housing and to feed their families, and losing this meager amount would put them in greater jeopardy.

Of the 14.8 million jobless Americans, only 8.5 million gets unemployment benefits. Of these 2 million will lose their benefits as the Senators Republicans blocked the unanimous consent requests of the Senate Democrats to extend or rather reinstate benefits for a year. The Republicans stand or line is that that these benefits are not paid for. According to Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona is that if they could find a way to pay for it then it can be extended. They are fine with the extension of the unemployment benefits as long as they do not add to the deficit. What is so unfair about it is the fact that the Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona supports giving a $700 billion tax break to the wealthiest Americans without paying for it. He believes that the unemployed will not spend the money anyway, not as much as the wealthy will. But that is where he is wrong. What little the unemployed gets as benefits, they would need to spend it in order to eat and stay in their homes. When the rich gets a dollar because of the tax break they will not use it, instead they will save it simply because they have other assets to use.

The chief economist at Moody’s has even found that a $1 unemployment benefit generates $1.61 in economic activity while a dollar is tax cuts generate about 32 cents. This then shows that although there is a cost to the government by giving unemployment benefits but the benefits far outweighs the costs. The effect on the jobless Americans is indescribable, it is a great tragedy. It is easy to see how ignorance about the life of the working masses and the unemployed is one factor that pushes this kind of thinking by the people in Washington. And although the Democrats and the White House economic team are trying to find ways to win this over, even tying the benefits to the Bush tax cuts, but still they did not win over the Republicans to vote for a renewal. Unfortunately, the failure to extend the unemployment insurance program could hamper the fragile recovery. And we can expect more Americans to chuck their workwear uniforms as it is said over one million jobs are expected to be lost over the next year. This situation makes you wonder if their dissent for the extension is simply a political maneuver to make the present government look bad at the expense of the American people.