I don't think that gratuitous unemployment benefits are keeping Americans unemployed. Competition for jobs is as fierce right now as it's ever been. People WANT to work. The jobs are simply not there because corporations are afraid and/or unwilling to expand their labor force. Why is that? I think that it's because of the overall destruction of wealth caused by the housing collapse, cheaper labor elsewhere, draconian labor laws, excessive litigation and risk related to employing others, and an overall lack of confidence in the value that can be added by a new employee, after accounting for all of the expenses involved with employment.