I hoped that this could be prevented, but the safety net for hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers just vanished, because yesterday, the Republican Party blocked a last ditch attempt to extend unemployment benefits. By year end, over two million workers will be cut off.
Federal unemployment benefits for millions of out-of-work Americans expired at midnight after Congress failed Tuesday to pass an extension for another year.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, took to the Senate floor Tuesday night to urge his colleagues to extend the benefits, but to no avail.
"Now it is time to govern. Now it is time to act. Now it is time to do what we have always done in a situation like this – to pass a promptly and timely extension of unemployment insurance benefits," Reed said.
"Acting now is the right thing to do, the responsible thing to do, the wise economic thing to do," he said.
He cited that the jobless benefits serve as an economic stimulus that is more effective than tax cuts for the wealthy, one of the Republicans’ priorities during the lame-duck Congress.
But Sen. Scott Brown, R-MA, objected to the Democrats’ bid to move forward with the jobless benefits bill… [emphasis added]
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Rachel Maddow and Cornell economist Robert Frank explain why we would all benefit from passage of this extension I terms even a Teabagger could understand.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
So why do Republicans expose this? They prefer to give million dollar tax cuts to billionaires that provide a safety net to the people those same billionaires dispossessed.
This Christmas, the Grinch is a Republican.
4 Responses to “Republicans to Main Street: Screw You!”
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I don’t think rising hunger, further collapse in the housing market and more people living in tents and shelters already too full to take them has a God damn thing to do with God damn christmas. What this has to do with is the republicans want to put this burden on the charitable nature of the neighbors of them who will be going hungry. After all 75% (not 90%) of the country still has a job.
These cocksuckers would not have passed this even if obama the coward gave them in full their tax cuts. Seeing as i know first hand what thieves run most large non profits i won’t be standing up to this plate like the right wants. Fuck them let the people march on DC for food and shelter just as the WWI veterans did for their bonus money.
This is just another right method of population control because they know some more will now be forced to turn to crime. They will either die by the hand of the one they are robbing, kill the one being robbed or starve to death. This is Christianity at it’s most glorious American best.
Mark, I feel your anger and share it.
Why 98% of the people would not vote republican is beyond me. Once again, the republicans show that they support the top 2% of the population only. They are willing to let the taxes go up on everyone rather than extending tax cuts for 98% of the people. They money saved by not extending tax cuts to people who make over $250000 per year could pay for the unemployment benefits for the millions of people out of work due primarily to republican policies.
The republicans would rather raise the debt by close to a TRILLION dollars over the next 10 years than give unemployment benefits, which can be paid for by not giving the tax cut to the top 2%, to unemployed people. The unemployment benefits also provide a much bigger stimulus to the economy than the tax cuts.
So, republicans really stand for increasing the national debt and extending the recession. Why would anyone, except the top 2%, want to vote for them?
Jerry, I don’t think that there is a simple answer. I think it comes down to three qualities that the bulk of US voters have in common: apathy, laziness, and gullibility.