One day you hear of an economic recovery with businesses starting to hire, home sales rising, auto sales starting to recover, GDP advancing over 4%, consumers spending everything they have on the latest tech gadgets and fashion.
Then you have 200,000 losing benefits and its starting to make headlines that something has to be done to extend it immediately. Its extremely interesting to hear everyone saying we have recovered from the recession but then go on to extend benefits for millions of people for another 100000 weeks. Wallstreet is showing everything is peaches and cream with equities rising day after day after day, corporate profits are up, corporate earnings are rising, thousands of stocks are touching new highs every week yet they keep passing unemployment benefits and continue to with the free handouts.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010Last Update: 4:11 PM PT
Unemployment Benefits Expire for 200,000
By AVERY FELLOW
WASHINGTON (CN) - Unemployment benefits expired for 200,000 Americans on Monday because lawmakers went on their spring recess without passing a one-month deadline extension.
An emergency one-month extension was to be passed under a unanimous-consent agreement under the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, but Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma blocked it, saying the government needed to find money in the budget to pay for the $10 billion extension.
"Our debt and deficits are as much of an emergency as our unemployment rate," Coburn said in a statement. He asserted that he did not single-handedly block the extension, saying he voted for Congress to stay in session until it worked out the issue.
"Any person with a thimble full of common sense could identify $9.2 billion of waste in our more than $3.5 trillion budget," Coburn said. "Yet, Congress finds this task so painful they would rather leave town and let certain unemployment benefits expire."
Of the 14.9 million unemployed Americans, 11.4 million are collecting unemployment compensation, costing the government $10 billion per month.
The Senate's failure to pass the bill also means lapses in funding for COBRA, which provides interim health insurance to workers who lose their benefits.
The Senate is expected to address the issue after Congress starts up again on April 12. The extension already passed in the House.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nationwide unemployment rate held steady in March at 9.7 percent.
Then you have 200,000 losing benefits and its starting to make headlines that something has to be done to extend it immediately. Its extremely interesting to hear everyone saying we have recovered from the recession but then go on to extend benefits for millions of people for another 100000 weeks. Wallstreet is showing everything is peaches and cream with equities rising day after day after day, corporate profits are up, corporate earnings are rising, thousands of stocks are touching new highs every week yet they keep passing unemployment benefits and continue to with the free handouts.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010Last Update: 4:11 PM PT
Unemployment Benefits Expire for 200,000
By AVERY FELLOW
WASHINGTON (CN) - Unemployment benefits expired for 200,000 Americans on Monday because lawmakers went on their spring recess without passing a one-month deadline extension.
An emergency one-month extension was to be passed under a unanimous-consent agreement under the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, but Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma blocked it, saying the government needed to find money in the budget to pay for the $10 billion extension.
"Our debt and deficits are as much of an emergency as our unemployment rate," Coburn said in a statement. He asserted that he did not single-handedly block the extension, saying he voted for Congress to stay in session until it worked out the issue.
"Any person with a thimble full of common sense could identify $9.2 billion of waste in our more than $3.5 trillion budget," Coburn said. "Yet, Congress finds this task so painful they would rather leave town and let certain unemployment benefits expire."
Of the 14.9 million unemployed Americans, 11.4 million are collecting unemployment compensation, costing the government $10 billion per month.
The Senate's failure to pass the bill also means lapses in funding for COBRA, which provides interim health insurance to workers who lose their benefits.
The Senate is expected to address the issue after Congress starts up again on April 12. The extension already passed in the House.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nationwide unemployment rate held steady in March at 9.7 percent.