If you watch the news, read the paper or listen to talk radio, you’d think the worse crisis facing America is the Gulf Oil Spill that has birds, fish, and beach shores covered in the thick gooey brown stuff, and a moratorium banning offshore drilling for 6 months. You’d never know that we are edging closer to the next Great Depression.
For the third time in the past two weeks the Senate has failed to pass H.R. 4213 – The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010, better known as the Tax Extenders Bill or the Unemployment Compensation Bill. Confusing is the lack of coverage by the mainstream media, and more surprising the almost non-existent outrage from President Obama and his administration. The previous bill extending emergency benefits to America’s 15 million unemployed workers expired in May. Emergency benefits are federally funded unemployment compensation in addition to the regular 26 weeks of State benefits. Those on unemployment who reach a zero balance in their current tier of benefits will no longer receive unemployment payments. The last extensions were given to those who reached a zero balance on or before June 2nd.
That’s some 1 million American citizens that have lost their jobs due to no fault of their own, who have been cut off completely. Most states don’t notify employees that benefits have ended. The displaced workers claim their weeks and the money just never shows up. This number is expected to grow nationwide by an estimated 300,000 each week. And, some say it doesn’t include the “99ers,” the term given to unemployed works that have already exhausted the maximum number of weeks to receive emergency benefits, which is 99. Last week the “99ers” attempted to present a request to President Obama to sign an Executive Order to bypass the bickering Senators and grant them an extension. It will be interesting to see how that turns out.
The Democrat led Senate states they now have the votes to pass the extender bill, which includes a myriad of other items, such as extending the start date on a 21% decrease in payments to Medicaid physicians to November 30th, proposed incentives to small business to encourage them to hire new workers, and changes to prevent manufacturers from shipping more jobs overseas. However, the Republicans, with the help of one Democrat are blocking the passage by engaging in a Filibuster.
If you are like the mainstream media and turning your head to this issue, beware, there may be something in this bill that affects you. For instance, an extension of stimulus money to fund additional policemen, teachers, and community programs; an extension to the home-buyers program that would have given new home buyers more time to close on their loans and receive the home-buyers tax credit; and there are plans to do away with the advances to low-income families who qualify for the earned income credit;. Also affected is the COBRA subsidy to assist those wishing to continue their healthcare coverage, as well as the additional $25 a week unemployed workers were receiving in addition to their regular unemployment. But most important is that today it may be your neighbor facing this horrific and bleak existence, but tomorrow it could be you.
If you ask those voting against passing this bill, why are they willing to kick those already down, they will argue that the deficit is out of control and they refuse to add anymore spending to it. As you may have imagined, this is a costly bill. I believe in its original form it came to roughly $118 billion in additional spending. But when you consider the billions paid to bail out Wall Street, the banking industry, to pay for two pointless wars and the 100’s of millions given to other nations to help stabilize their economies, is this really a valid argument?
Several Senators even argue that extended unemployment benefits is just another form of welfare and the unemployed would rather sit at home and collect a check opposed to going out and getting a job. Obviously, these Senators haven’t talked to the family that has lost a substantial income that sometimes falls into the 6 figure range. I am sure that person with $10K in monthly expenses is thrilled to be sitting at the house collecting anywhere from $1000 -$1800 a month in unemployment. And let’s keep in mind that unemployment compensation is actually funded by taxes paid by the employed, so someone who worked 20 or 30 years, surely is entitled to these benefits.
With 15 million people currently unemployed and job creation virtually non-existent, it is hard to comprehend what the unemployed are suppose to do until the job situation changes in this country. Everyday more and more jobs are going overseas, while the corporations sending them there enjoy tax breaks and record earnings. So while your friends, neighbors, family members or perhaps even you, try to figure out how to keep homes (whether renting or buying), how to put food on the table, keep the lights on and water running, gas in the car, if the car hasn’t been repossessed; know that your elected officials would rather discuss the oil on gulf beaches, the high school in their district that made state champions, the neighbor whose son or daughter just received this or that award, or whatever else comes to mind; rather than how to keep the citizens who voted them into office from losing everything they have, including hope, and eventually their minds.
Perhaps the media will begin covering this story when the desperation of those who have exhausted all options, begin to act out their despair in violent manners. Just think about the guy who very recently committed suicide because he had lost his livelihood due to the Gulf spill. He actually had options, the long-term unemployed do not.
Tracy L. Darity is a writer for West Orlando News Online.
Tracy L. Darity is the author of the award winning novel, “He Loves Me He Loves Me Not!” and “Love…Like Snow In Florida On A Hot Summer Day.” For more information visit www.TracyLDarity.com and www.TracyLDarity.ning.com.
