GOP continues to stiff-arm America’s unemployed
Congressional Republicans continue to block an extension of unemployment benefits for the longterm jobless. Since the last extension expired on June 2, an estimated 1.2 million Americans have lost that economic lifeline, a number that grows every week.
In Georgia alone, an additional 7,000 jobless people are losing unemployment benefits every week because of the GOP’s stance. In fact, 47 percent of unemployed Georgians haven’t had a paycheck in at least six months, which means that by now, most of them have exhausted their savings and have no other resources to draw upon.
According to some, of course, that’s a good thing. They prefer to believe that there are jobs out there going unclaimed because people prefer to live on their unemployment check, which in Georgia maxes out at the princely sum of $330 a week. The fact that on average, there are five job applicants for every job opening doesn’t seem to penetrate the calloused and the smug.
The legislation also includes Medicaid money that state governments have been relying upon to balance their budgets. Georgia, for example, has built an expected $375 million in Medicaid assistance into its budget for fiscal 2011, which begins tomorrow. Without that money, Georgia will have to find that money somewhere else, which will mean drastic cuts in health care and perhaps another round of teacher layoffs as well.
The GOP argues that it wants the bill to be “paid for” with offsetting cuts elsewhere so that it won’t worsen the deficit by another $35 billion over 10 years. Interestingly, that concern about the deficit seems to disappear when the debate turns to extending Bush-era cuts on the capital gains and estate taxes, for example. Renewing those cuts would have a far bigger and more long-term impact on the deficit than will temporary aid to the unemployed and the sick.
But you gotta have prioirities, right?
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509 comments Add your comment
Joe Biden
June 30th, 2010
11:21 am
My friend and boss, President Obama, isnt the problem. You being a smart-ass is the problem.
Alatsea
June 30th, 2010
11:21 am
The Dems have decided for the first time since a federal budget was established to not bother with it. No budget just keep spending. Instead of the billions of dollars thrown who knows where for the stimulus maybe the incompetent administration should have put some thought in it. BO was made to look like the moron he is at the G20, saying another 100 billion would make things right. Socialist leaders looked at him as if he was from another planet. Jay, where do you think the money should come from? We are broke as a country. Dems don’t have a clue what fiscal responsibility is. Presently there is a bill to fund the war. Gates is asking for 30 billion, the dems have it up to 70 billion with there entitlement garbage. The spending must STOP. Granny your boy BO does not need any help to fail, the man is a loser and we are paying the price for this sad attempt at leadership.
Outhouse GoKart
June 30th, 2010
11:22 am
Agreed…Obi is his own worst enemy and watching him fail is just so satisfying!!
Jackie
June 30th, 2010
11:23 am
The Repubs have been obstructionists from the day President Obama took office.
Now, they want the faithful to believe they are doing all these things to hurt the public for the good of the country.
The only way our elected officials could continue with negative activity is have the support of their electorate. The faithful keep lining up and justifying the loss of employment by their neighbors and fellow citizens by using the specious argument that “the country can not afford it.”
Question for them; can the country afford not to have those citizens gainfully employed?
Mick
June 30th, 2010
11:23 am
amvet
Some people here would prefer that we change our country to: the United Corporations of America, afterall aren’t their interests first served by our gov’t?
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
June 30th, 2010
11:25 am
A shootout erupted outside a Walmart Supercenter in Marietta early Wednesday. Five vehicles were hit by gunfire, but no one was hurt, police said. AJC.com
Well, I sure hope they were Liscenced to Carry so they never broke the Law. We’re getting too many of these shootouts. It’s time for Gun Training. You got to know how to shoot and not hit any bystanders of cars.
Fang1944
June 30th, 2010
11:25 am
pat
June 30th, 2010
8:54 am
How long would you suggest unemployment benifits go on. One year? Two years? Or is it to be open ended and with out end?
——————-
How about for as long as there are six applicants for every job?
Somebody commented that “they” have been taking the tax out of his paycheck for 20 years. Unemployment money comes from a tax on employers not on employees.
TaxPayer
June 30th, 2010
11:25 am
If permanent tax cuts possess all these magical healing powers, why didn’t the Republicans and Bush make them permanent to begin with instead of allowing them to retire. Surely they had all the facts and studies and analysis to prove their case to a mere sixty senators. And the president was certainly ready to sign that bill, had it ever arrived on his desk. Now, the Republicans want the Democrats to do the job that they would not or could not do and they whine and moan and complain that the Democrats are going to raise their taxes when, in fact, Obama has cut their taxes even more and if he does nothing to stop it, it will be the Republican’s own legislation that leads to their taxes being raised.
Smart A$$
June 30th, 2010
11:26 am
Joe Biden, maybe your boss isn’t such a “big f’in deal” after all……
Doggone/GA
June 30th, 2010
11:27 am
“I was told by the employer that within 24 hours of listing the job position over 200 people applied and sent resumes.”
You do understand what an “average” is, don’t you? Just because some jobs might have that many applicants, doesn’t mean they ALL do.
Union
June 30th, 2010
11:27 am
when small businesses keep saying that the actions of washington are impairing their ability or desire to create jobs.. should we not look at this seriously? outside of the federal govt.. who is hiring like crazy.. they are largest employee base in the country.
Smart A$$
June 30th, 2010
11:28 am
Easy answer. Three words: democrat majority congress
“If permanent tax cuts possess all these magical healing powers, why didn’t the Republicans and Bush make them permanent to begin with instead of allowing them to retire.”
md
June 30th, 2010
11:28 am
“The role of the inheritance tax is to counterbalance, modestly, the ability of the very rich and super-rich to create family dynasties in which family members by virtue of birth and birth alone have insuperable economic advantages over the rest of society. We live, or should live, in land of equal opportunity, not a feudal regime in which life position is determined by hereditary birth.”
I guess you are also in favor of rich countries sharing with poor countries since it is always about a genetic lottery. Let’s take the assets of every country in the world and divvy them up so all countries are “equal”. To be fair, all countries need to be 3rd world countries – right??
JCamp
June 30th, 2010
11:31 am
Simple question. Where do you socialists think the money comes from???
John Birch
June 30th, 2010
11:32 am
AmVet – You do realize coporate taxes, and some regulations, are the reason so many US companies have moved offshore don’t you? That can’t be good for America. The ethics of inheritance tax is interesting talk but it’s peanuts from a revenue standpoint. Net estate tx revenues for 2008 totalled a paltry $25B. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/08es01fy.xls
Libertarian
June 30th, 2010
11:32 am
@SPAS
I know there are ways around it. Honestly, I have my own business and do not need my parent’s. I’m hoping they will sell theirs before they die and blow all the money on meaningless crap. The American Way, right? Spend all your money and die poor. We don’t reward saving and responsibility.
Mick
June 30th, 2010
11:32 am
md
Why do people like bill gates, his father, and warren buffett support the estate tax? How much is enough? I mean when you can own everything you ever want in your lifetime, what’s wrong with giving back to the country where it all became possible?
AmVet
June 30th, 2010
11:33 am
Mick, as I’ve said before, the sign at Ellis island should be changed to –
Welcome to the United States of America! A wholly owned subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange.
Gotta go and help the suffering wealthy get some more welfare.
Later, plutocracy lovers…
Taxpayer
June 30th, 2010
11:33 am
There are NO FREE LUNCHES–somebody has to pay.Either the current txpayers or your children and grandchildren. We can’t live on promises. Eliminate illegal immigration and it will be a step forward.
md
June 30th, 2010
11:34 am
“Do we not tax capital gains? The value of the assets have changed. When it is transferred it is at the FMV. That usually generates a gain from the basis. Is it high? Possibly, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is taxable.”
Prior to an estate tax, has the estate already not been taxed on capital gains??
Gov’t takeover of a private asset based on an event – death, and nothing more.
Capital Quest
June 30th, 2010
11:34 am
Isn’t anyone proud of Obama for finally figuring out whose brass to kick?
Not one person? This bodes poorly for the midterms when an acting prez can’t get an applause break for his Lincolnesque handling of a stalled war effort. Lincoln, you know, fired many generals as he tried to find one who would fight. Lincoln had a thicker skin than Obama, as he endured many slights from his generals as they weighed in on their own contrary strategic visions for the war.
Mcclellan vs Mcchrystal: Both were very disrespectful of the commander in chief.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Except for this economy. This is unchartered cycle. China. Global influences. There probably isn’t one economist alive who can construct a reliable model for predicting growth. Watch CNBC interview the best and the brightest and you can’t get even remote similarities in criteria. Even Kudlow thinks this isn’t the bottom. Kudlow! I hope he hasn’t reverted back to his former addictions, and sticks with his lifelong quest for the perfect cheer for capitalism. Most wall street brokers are talking about preservation of capital.
A penny preserved is a penny earned.
Rick
June 30th, 2010
11:35 am
Yes, Bush was an idiot that started an expensive war without a “good” reason. Al Queida certainly was not a concern in Iraq. Yes, Bush gave stupid tax cuts to the rich.
Now Obama and the Democrats are running the show (Democrats have controlled Congress for a longer time) and they have not made the decision to cut our losses and get out of the middle east wars. They should be pulling back all military from all bases not on US soil. We don’t need to be the world’s policeman!
Obama and the Democrats have continued to allow 1.7 million new legal immigrants into the US each year! We aren’t even generating enough jobs to cover the new immigrants…we are losing ground in the “unemployment” issue! The current administration still caters to the needs of illegal aliens when US citizens and legal residents do not have jobs!
Obama and the Democrats spent a lot of time with a healthcare reform bill that most Americans don’t want! They lied to us about the “savings” and the CBO recently found that the healthcare bill will be much more expensive than the Democrats advertised to the American people.
Unlike Jay, I don’t have much sympathy for the Democrats. They are as much or more of the problem than the Republicans because they are in power and have enough power to change the number of immigrants being allowed into this country. When the boat is sinking, the Democrats should find a way to “plug the D**N hole”!
Vince
June 30th, 2010
11:35 am
I’m proud to call myself an Independent…or a Logical Thinker, as I prefer to see it.
The Democrats control both houses of Congress and The White House. To complain about the minority party getting in their way reeks of pathetic whining.
AmVet
June 30th, 2010
11:37 am
md, sorry, can’t stay and play. But that hyperbolic rhetoric at 11:28 is laughable, even by your standards.
“it’s peanuts from a revenue standpoint” correct John B. And thus the canard. Sorry no entrenched feudal system in the USA.
Corporations were rewarded to ship jobs overseas. While CEO pay went up a staggering 250% in the 1990s alone, worker pay went up………………………………wait for it…………………………4%.
Ship the CEO job overseas and bring back those thousands of worker jobs…..
Sorry, guys, really gotta go.
Doggone/GA
June 30th, 2010
11:39 am
“Spend all your money and die poor”
That’s what I told MY parents to do. They started with almost nothing, everything they had they made, and saved, and built for themselves. I told them I expected to inherit nothing. They earned the right to spend every penny if they chose.
MAC
June 30th, 2010
11:40 am
md
Buffett plans to give away 99% to charity to avoid getting taxed. Buffett and Gates are on a drive to have all billionaires give away at least 50% of their wealth to charity. Sounds like they support the inheritance tax for everyone else not on their philanthropy parade.
If they felt so strongly about the estate tax, why not just bequeath it to the government instead?
“Why do people like bill gates, his father, and warren buffett support the estate tax? How much is enough? I mean when you can own everything you ever want in your lifetime, what’s wrong with giving back to the country where it all became possible?”
Mick
June 30th, 2010
11:40 am
amvet
Yes, and its always been that way hasn’t it? I mean the times have changed along with technology, but we still have a creepier corporate mutation of the rockefellers, carnegies, fords…..
Matti
June 30th, 2010
11:41 am
Alatsea at 11:21: “The Dems have decided for the first time since a federal budget was established to not bother with it.”
Um, actually, that’s not quite true. The Great Decider, George W. Bush, and his band of merry lawmakers decided not to bother putting our TWO WARS in the budget. After our treasury (including a budget surplus) was emptied into the pockets of HalliCheney and the Blackwater mercinaries, they just borrowed the money from China using our children as collateral. No budgeting required!
Some People are stupid
June 30th, 2010
11:42 am
Smart A$$
When the Bush tax cuts passed there was a Republican majority
USinUK
June 30th, 2010
11:42 am
“The Democrats control both houses of Congress and The White House. To complain about the minority party getting in their way reeks of pathetic whining.”
sorry, bub, but the GOP has turned all legislation which previously only needed a majority vote to pass into legislation that needed a super-majority to prevent a filibuster.
the Dems SHOULD be raising a stink about the country being held hostage.
emack06
June 30th, 2010
11:43 am
@ Nothing is Free,
You must be missing something or just don’t understand american politics for the last decade. When Clinton left office in 2000, the U.S. had a surplus on the national debt. Repubs had complete, fillerbuster proof majority over the house and senate as well as a repub president. So they run-a-muc with spending for their war machine and welfare for the wealthy. The trippled the the national debt by the time bush left office.
Doggone/GA
June 30th, 2010
11:43 am
“decided not to bother putting our TWO WARS in the budget”
And Obama HAS put them in the budget
md
June 30th, 2010
11:43 am
“Why do people like bill gates, his father, and warren buffett support the estate tax? How much is enough? I mean when you can own everything you ever want in your lifetime, what’s wrong with giving back to the country where it all became possible?”
Nothing wrong with giving back – if one chooses to do so. It boils down to freedom vs tyranny – one should have the freedom to choose what to do with what they have, not have a group of misfits decide what they deem as worthy.
Their is nothing stopping Gates, Buffet, etc from giving everything they own to others – but I find it interesting they choose not to.
So, you may want to ask them the definition of “enough”, as they don’t seem to want to part with it.
Outhouse GoKart
June 30th, 2010
11:44 am
“The Repubs have been obstructionists from the day President Obama took office.”
Oh I see how it is. Now instead of blaming Bush you all want to blame the republicans…mmm hmmm.
Outhouse GoKart
June 30th, 2010
11:45 am
Agreed md.
“Millions for charity but not one penny for tribute”.
md
June 30th, 2010
11:45 am
“md, sorry, can’t stay and play. But that hyperbolic rhetoric at 11:28 is laughable, even by your standards.”
Just expanded the logic and suddenly it makes no sense.
Interesting.
scrappy
June 30th, 2010
11:45 am
If you take out the rhetoric of ‘the unemployed are lazy free loaders’ what rationale is there for not extending benefits?
If people can’t pay the mortgage, they lose the house, the bank get its, losing money, losing taxes to the city/state, and lowering the value of the neighbors houses. Who benefits here?
If people can’t afford ‘luxuries’ like eating out, groceries, clothes, they don’t buy them or anything at all, businesses lose customers, taxes aren’t taken out, maybe stores start to go out of business, creating more unemployed, and the cycle continues. Who benefits here?
Our economy is largely based on the purchasing power of the people, if you create a new class of unemployed, homeless, unable to buy anything people, I don’t see them or the economy ever recovering.
TaxPayer
June 30th, 2010
11:46 am
Person at 11:33, why did you use my handle?
Some People are stupid
June 30th, 2010
11:46 am
Md-
Prior to an estate tax, has the estate already not been taxed on capital gains??
No…capital gains are only taxed when realized…when it is transferred…its realized on the step up basis so it hadn’t been taxed.
Put it this way..if you owned stock in a company in 2000 at 100k..the stock price rose to 3mill in 01…you are only tax on the part that is sold..if you didn’t sell anything, its unrealized gain that isnt taxed. If in from 2001 to 2010 the investment fell from 3 mill to 110k, when transferred to you, it is valued at 110k. thats your basis, you are taxed on the 10k difference.
Sandra
June 30th, 2010
11:46 am
Mike,
Doesn’t it strike you a bit odd that the ONLY thing they have supported was a ‘war effort’? Every other thing they have blocked, lied about and fear-mongered however and whenever they could. I wouldn’t be bragging on that one item they supported if I were you.
It’s not that I didn’t agree with what the President was trying to do, it’s just that I disagree that the Republicans have put forth ANY effort to try and help the country through this crisis.
Halftrack
June 30th, 2010
11:46 am
Jay, Why don’t you pick on the people who have caused this mess. 99 weeks of extension already. If jobs were actually created – - – instead of doling out $$$; the employed would be paying taxes and paying for their own needs. How long would you keep up your own relatives because they don’t have a job from your own salary, savings, etc.? A lot of somebodies are going to have to pay this money back. You must blame the job makers for not doing their job. You are right that the diagnosis of the situation is that unemployed need temporary money to survive – - – but the main prognosis is that this is a slow death for the individual and nation if jobs are not created for the real cure.
Grant
June 30th, 2010
11:46 am
I’m with you guys, unemployed and looking. I’ve started to put together a list of companies, rather than use Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com. I’ve found it yields a bit more results going directly to the company. Also looking for connections through linkedin has helped.
Anyways, I wish you all the best of luck. I included a link to the list I have compiled so far!
http://grantbeehler.net/jobs.html
Dawgfan
June 30th, 2010
11:47 am
The biggest obsticle to companies is the Obama and the Democratic congress. American businesses are sitting in 1.4 TRILLION dollars in CASH. The reason they aren’t using that money to hire people is because they fear the costs of Obamacare, Cap & Trade, Card Check, New Taxes, and whatever else Obama and the Congress can dream up. 1.4 Trillion Dollars could create a lot of jobs in the private sector.
Scout
June 30th, 2010
11:47 am
Often quoted but oh so applicable to this thread :
“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it.”
Frederic Bastiat
Karl Childers
June 30th, 2010
11:47 am
Some People are stupid … first of all what “tax cuts” are you referring to? Secondly, PERMANENT tax cuts would stimulate economic activity as taxpayers kept more of their earned income and spent or invested it as they saw fit. The reason tax cuts are often not permanent is because politicians can’t stop spending money to buy votes. I see Washington as one party with two names.
To your other point, government spending creates government borrowing which “crowds out” private
sector borrowing and raises the cost of borrowed capital (i) for private sector companies.
Hope you were taking notes.
Mick
June 30th, 2010
11:47 am
md
You are certainly entitled to your opinion but tyranny? Give me a break…
Rick
June 30th, 2010
11:47 am
The State of Georgia can recover 4 times the money needed for Medicaid/Medicare that isn’t being provided by the federal government!
Simply remove illegal aliens and their children! Each child of an illegal alien costs the local taxpayers $10,000 for K-12 educations! There are more than 30,000 such students in the state of Georgia. That math totals $300 million dollars each year.
Add in the costs of courts and court translators and document translations…add in the same for hospitals and public clinics, add in incarceration costs…well we are talking some REAL money here! Obama and the Democrats and state officials have done NOTHING that solves a long standing problem! What are they doing to earn the voters confidence that elected them?
Illegal aliens cost the state of Georgia $1 Billion each year. Note: that includes their “anchor” babies.
Doggone/GA
June 30th, 2010
11:49 am
“You must blame the job makers for not doing their job”
Oh, it’s worse than that…the “job makers” actually ELIMINATED jobs. I have to wonder what would have happened to the economy if, instead of panicing and eliminating jobs, they had foregone their profits for a spell in order to keep their people employed.
getalife
June 30th, 2010
11:50 am
Both parties are to blame and the one percent sold your jobs overseas to increase their profits. They are not coming back and this experiment of capitalism has failed and so have the people.
Divided we failed.
jewcowboy
June 30th, 2010
11:50 am
I found a cartoon that is so very dead on…some on here will love it…some on here will find it a bit too close to home. Enjoy!
24 types of Libertarians:
http://www.leftycartoons.com/the-24-types-of-libertarian/
Matti
June 30th, 2010
11:54 am
md,
Through pure luck, against all odds, and through no actual work, a minimum-wage putz wins the lottery and is heavily taxed. Hey, why not? He didn’t work for those millions, after all.
Through pure luck, against all odds, and through no actual work, a child is born to a billionaire oil-exec and inherits a cool $Bil. Why not tax it? He didn’t work for it, after all.
Middle class Mommy toils in gray, over-air-conditioned cublicle owned by foreign holding company for decades on a salary that does not keep up with the increasing cost of everything, and is understandably GRATEFUL to have a job in this ecomony. Mommy is taxed like a m—-r eff-r at every turn, and wonders why lucky fetus should get to skip the taxes on his cool $Bil he DIDN’T work for…
Doggone/GA
June 30th, 2010
11:55 am
jewcowboy – I think it’s safe to say we’ve had EVERY ONE of them on here at one time or another!
John Birch
June 30th, 2010
11:55 am
dog, Matti, et al – Please explain the difference between the debt and deficit due to off budget war expense vs in budget war expense.
scrappy
June 30th, 2010
11:55 am
indeed.com is also a good job search engine… for those still looking, I found it better than careerbuilder
RB from Gwinnett
June 30th, 2010
11:56 am
Jay, they didn’t have the votes for Obama Care either, but they seemed to be able to get that done. How about you stop blaming R’s for the complete failure of your majority in both houses D’s and hold them accountable for getting something done for a change. Pathetic. Everything is either Bush’s fault or R’s fault and the people in charge are blameless. Unbelievable.
BADA BING
June 30th, 2010
11:56 am
Don’t forget to factor in all the Democrats looking for jobs in November. Boycott NY, LA and San Fran, support AZ.
Doggone/GA
June 30th, 2010
11:57 am
“Please explain the difference between the debt and deficit due to off budget war expense vs in budget war expense”
Bottom line? There isn’t one. Above that, an off-budget expense makes the budget LOOK smaller than it really is…which is WHY the wars were kept off-budget in the first place.
Independent
June 30th, 2010
11:57 am
Jay, when is the piece titled “Democrats continue to tackle taxpayers” going to tun?
jewcowboy
June 30th, 2010
11:58 am
Doggone/GA @ 11.55,
I had the same thought as soon as I read it
Some People are stupid
June 30th, 2010
11:58 am
Karl Childers-
To your other point, government spending creates government borrowing which “crowds out” private
sector borrowing and raises the cost of borrowed capital (i) for private sector companies.
You left out a word then. Government “deficit” spending.
Your original post said government spending reduced jobs. Which is incorrect. If the gov’t is on budget, any spending they do does not require borrowing.
Second point. You said permanent tax cuts, so I assumed you would be referring to the tax cuts that are not permanent and are expiring(cap gains, AMT fix). When tax cuts are take it you mean adjusting the tax code. What rates do you think are appropriate then.
thomas
June 30th, 2010
11:59 am
USinUK
June 30th, 2010
11:42 am
“the Dems SHOULD be raising a stink about the country being held hostage.”
lil far reaching there wouldn’t you say.
Is it really holding the country hostage if they don’t just let the dems have everything they want? That is part of politics, getting people to go along with your ideas through compromise. Is there something illegal that the GOP is doing or are they jsut playing by the rules allowed?
Hostage would be passing a Health Care Bill that the people as a majority were firmly against without any help from the other party.
For the Dems so far it has either been their way or no-way. i have not seen much compromise from either side but certainly more concessions have been made by the rep. what have the dems conceded, and still passed a bill?
But we voted them into office to do so I suppose.
md
June 30th, 2010
11:59 am
“No…capital gains are only taxed when realized…when it is transferred…its realized on the step up basis so it hadn’t been taxed.”
Yes, but what about an estate that has realized all capital gains prior to death, say it is all cash.
Gov’t takeover of private asset…………….
BADA BING
June 30th, 2010
12:00 pm
obama did kick some ass. The unemployed are getting their asses kicked everyday.
USinUK
June 30th, 2010
12:01 pm
thomas – “Is it really holding the country hostage if they don’t just let the dems have everything they want?”
who is talking about having everythign they want – they don’t even want it up for a VOTE.
like I said – that’s the difference between needing a simple majority and a super majority.
john
June 30th, 2010
12:01 pm
Jay,
Once again Liberals just not “getting it.”
Listen, I know it is a tough job market right now, but we can’t just keep extending benefits time and time again. Liberals love to say how welfare really doesn’t cost the US that much. However, it’s not just welfare people are getting, its Medicaid, food stamps, section8 housing. When you add up all of these, it is a pretty astonishing number how much money 1 person can “receive” from the government.
As much as Jay and Cynthia are trying really, really hard to make Republicans look bad, it won’t and isn’t working. Most Americans are waking up to the disaster that is Obama and this DEMOCRATIC controlled Congress. You can try to spin numbers and facts all you want…our control is eroding quickly, and Obama and his nut job advisors, czars, judges are only furthering it. We can only pray some of the damage can be undone
md
June 30th, 2010
12:01 pm
“You are certainly entitled to your opinion but tyranny? Give me a break…”
And you may want to check out the definition of tyranny……
USinUK
June 30th, 2010
12:03 pm
“The unemployed are getting their asses kicked everyday.”
yeah. because unemployment only started growing after 21 Jan 2009.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
John Birch
June 30th, 2010
12:03 pm
dog – Corect, it alo made the projected deficit smaller but that was offset by periodically having to go to congress and ask for the money, since it wasn’t already in the budget. But lots of Dems talk about Bush’s deficits being as large as Obama’s because Bush ran the war off budget, which is utter nonsense.
stands for decibels
June 30th, 2010
12:04 pm
JCB @ 11.50, thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you.
(I admit a particular fondness for “Briefly Tempting.”)
md
June 30th, 2010
12:06 pm
matti,
Proponent of class warfare??
What about the mommy born in the third world country that would give anything to be the mommy that has it so tough in your post (which to her would be a blessing)??
Where do you draw the line??
Southern Comfort
June 30th, 2010
12:07 pm
Illegal aliens cost the state of Georgia $1 Billion each year. Note: that includes their “anchor” babies.
Until you get Congress and the American public to repeal the 14th Amendment, those “anchor” babies are US citizens and granted all rights and privileges thereof.
Some People are stupid
June 30th, 2010
12:07 pm
md-
Didn’t say the system was perfect. I do believe the cash is taxed. That is probably an argument I would have with the inheritance tax. The basis of money is at par value.
Disgusted
June 30th, 2010
12:10 pm
The reason tax cuts are often not permanent is because politicians can’t stop spending money to buy votes.
In the case of the Bush tax cuts that are about to expire, they aren’t permanent because the Republican Congress bypassed a filibuster by using the budget reconciliation process in the Senate to pass them, just like the Democrats used reconciliation in the Senate to pass the healthcare law.
Here’s the kicker: anything passed by reconciliation has an automatic 10-year sunset provision. That’s why the Bush tax cuts expire on December 31. Their ten years are up.
Scout
June 30th, 2010
12:10 pm
USinUK:
Isn’t it your bedtime ?
john
June 30th, 2010
12:12 pm
Even though I am a Republican, I am not one of these who thinks if we cut taxes right now everything would be rosy and great. However, I have talked to several small business owners (its part of my job), and the thing they are most worried/freaked out/scared about is future tax increases. While they haven’t gone up yet, it is almost a certainty that they are going up sometime soon…
Unlike Obama and the idiots in the White House who have ZERO real world business experience, business owners understand that you can’t just keep borrowing money and hoping things get better. Most business owners are hoarding cash expecting the large tax increases. Until Obama shows COURAGE to actually make cuts and start trying to fix the defecit, business owners will continue to not hire.
Can I ask some of you who voted for Obama, how did you vote for someone to have the most powerful job in the world that had absolutely no experience? The man’s experience consisted of community organizing. You couldn’t get a job making $40,000 a year with that kind of experience
USinUK
June 30th, 2010
12:15 pm
Scout – oh, benchmark analysis never sleeps (although, it has been known to doze off …)
stands for decibels
June 30th, 2010
12:17 pm
Yesterday in light of the Kos/research 2000 flareup, I learned that polls were bogus, only fools pay attention to them.
Today:
Hostage would be passing a Health Care Bill that the people as a majority were firmly against without any help from the other party.
Anyone else lose count of how many time the GOPers informed us that a “solid. Majority! are. against! this.” based on polling?
I guess it all makes sense, somehow.
Scout
June 30th, 2010
12:19 pm
USinUK:
I’m concerned for your health.
Laurie
June 30th, 2010
12:20 pm
As an Obama supporter, I have to agree with the GOP on this one. Our country’s debt has gotten way out of control, and we simply can’t afford another extension. I do agree that there are tax credits that should be repealed, but we can’t keep extending aid to the unemployed at the cost of our nation’s fiscal future. Maybe if Ga could repeal that tax credit to seniors making over 100,000 a year, that could go to our state’s unemployed…
dave
June 30th, 2010
12:20 pm
Jay, if your democrats can pay for it then the GOP will let it pass, if not then No More New Debt. In the long run New Debt will have more effective on employment than continuing to run the economy into the ground. You are the guys that just don’t get it.
md
June 30th, 2010
12:21 pm
Folks need to understand it is all about perception. It is perceived that Barry’s policies will be detrimental to business – hc costs, card check, cap and trade, huge debt, etc.
As mentioned, the bad times will continue until businesses perceive a better environment for them to conduct business in – so no time soon, unfortunately.
Outhouse GoKart
June 30th, 2010
12:23 pm
“Middle class mommy…cublicle owned by foreign holding company for decades on a salary that does not keep up with the increasing cost of everything”
Perhaps mommy shouldve thought before having mulitple kids by multiple dads.
Perhaps mommy should get a job at the local strip joint and make more cash.
Perhaps mommy should become more proficient at her current job instead of gossiping all day.
Perhaps mommy is just a dullard.
Perhaps mommy should be taking some personal responsbility in hygiene instead of smelling like a her man-friends undepants.
Perhaps if mommy didnt smoke cigarettes and drink cheap “box wine” she would have more available cash.
Perhaps mommy should admit what a failure she is and seek out the closets yet highest bridge and practice her flying lessons.
Von'Victor Valentino Rosenchild
June 30th, 2010
12:23 pm
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
What I would like to know, is how that if the Republicans won the Presidency, how would they have handled this Great Recession that the nation is faced with? How would they have prevented 8 million jobs being lost? If they could not prevent the job being lost, then how would they have handled millions of American Tax Paying citizens being unemployed for more than 99 weeks? Would they still spend $30 billion dollars on the War and not spend the same amount of money on the American People? How would they have handled the fall-out of the Financial Firms on Wall Street? Would they have left millions of Americans that are struggling to find work, and provide food, shelter and helath care to their families out in the cold without any support?
Senators make $170,000 a year, why do they not consider taking a pay cut to decrease the National Deficit? Let’s say decrease the annual pay of every U.S. Senator by $100,000 for the next 10 years to help reduce the National Deficit, now this would make a big impact on the national deficit. Moreover, let’s decrease the Defense Spending by at least 40% for the next 10 years, this would bring the National Deficit back into the Green.
What do you think about this?
Von’Victor Valentino Rosenchild
http://www.cloudapproval.wordpress.com
Steven Q. Stanley
June 30th, 2010
12:23 pm
Jay, how much are you willing to borrow from China to pay for handouts to everyone? Do you have kids, how much debt is acceptable to leave them?
Sadly the Republicans are playing politics and don’t really care about spending cuts, if they were in power, they’d be the first to sign the checks.
Good result, but not for the right reasons.
Veronica Policano
June 30th, 2010
12:23 pm
Yes I did payroll and taxes for 20 years. Every company pays state unemployment every 3 months based on the wages paid to employees and federal unemployment every 6 months based the same. I don’t know where anyone gets the idea that the federal unemployment is not paid by employers. It is based on the wages paid to employees so these employees are entitled to the federal unemployment as much as the state unemployment. If need be based on the cimpanies layoffs raise their federal unemployment rate.
Rick
June 30th, 2010
12:24 pm
Southern Comfort June 30th, 2010 12:07 pm
Illegal aliens cost the state of Georgia $1 Billion each year. Note: that includes their “anchor” babies.
Until you get Congress and the American public to repeal the 14th Amendment, those “anchor” babies are US citizens and granted all rights and privileges thereof.
===========================
I agree! This is something that Obama and the Democrats could be doing to help the “unemployment” problem.
Do we continue to throw money at the unemployed? Do we really expect that 15 million jobs will be made available…even in 10 years?
The US produces fewer and fewer items that are bought by other countries. The developing countries have a much, much, lower standard of living and wage scales. The US can not compete when the job is making generic widgets. These jobs are not coming back!
Green jobs…is that a joke? Not enough and will not pay enough for the jobs being lost!
The US already has more workers that need jobs than the US economy will provide for the next two decades. Yet our federal government has not moved towards reducing the supply of labor and reducing the number of jobs that are outsourced to a foreign country or a foreign worker that moves to the US. That is the PROBLEM!
We do not have enough money to subsidize all the unemployed we will have for the next two decades.
I’d like to hear from someone that can provide a reasonable vision of how the US is going to get back to 5% unemployment.
andygrd
June 30th, 2010
12:24 pm
Okay Mr. Jay, you said “Interestingly, that concern about the deficit seems to disappear when the debate turns to extending Bush-era cuts on the capital gains and estate taxes, for example. Renewing those cuts would have a far bigger and more long-term impact on the deficit than will temporary aid to the unemployed and the sick.” Please cite the source of your statement.. and please a creditable source…
You also said, “The GOP argues that it wants the bill to be “paid for” with offsetting cuts elsewhere so that it won’t worsen the deficit by another $35 billion over 10 years.” So what is wrong with that?
Why don’t you say, “This jobs bill is really critical, let’s strip out the other items and just votes for this…. Why the “add ons” right now on this Bill…. Both the Democrats and Republicans use this tactic, and I am tired of and so should you……..
Disgusted
June 30th, 2010
12:24 pm
Can I ask some of you who voted for Obama, how did you vote for someone to have the most powerful job in the world that had absolutely no experience? The man’s experience consisted of community organizing. You couldn’t get a job making $40,000 a year with that kind of experience.
Can I ask some of you how I could be expected to vote for a man who crashed five Navy jets, killing a lot of people when he show-boated on a carrier deck by starting up one in an unauthorized manner, while also singing “Bomb, bomb Iran” to an old Beach Boys tune and selecting an amazingly incompetent running mate who couldn’t name one Supreme Court ruling with which she disagreed or one news source she read?
I mean, it’s not as though you guys gave us a lot of choices.
Morris
June 30th, 2010
12:25 pm
LET’S SEE PAKASTAN HOW ABOUT A COUPLE $300,000,000 FIGHTER JETS ISREAL HERE’S 40 BILLION DOLLARS SOUTH KOREA HERE’S A FEW BILLION FOR YOU.IRAC AND AFHGANISTAN HERE IS OUR CHECK BOOK.WRITE THE CHECK FOR WHAT EVER YOU NEED.AND UNEMPLOWED HARD WORKING AMERICAN CITIZEN.” GET LOST”
md
June 30th, 2010
12:25 pm
Whatever happened to that over hyped pretty as can be bill passed with great fanfare called “Pay-go”??
Anybody out there fooled by that one??
John Edwards
June 30th, 2010
12:25 pm
Anyone wanna see some pictures of my new baby?
Dan J
June 30th, 2010
12:29 pm
The answer is simple The repubs don’t care they only care if it benefits them what happen when thay had 8 years of capital gains take they were greedy and let jobs go overseas yes they want more yes we need to help people what ever way we can this is ordained by god so you got a problem with that you either need to go ask god or you have no heart
America is over
June 30th, 2010
12:31 pm
Jay and others like you want the unemployed to feed off the hard workers permanently…or better yet..see if we can just get them a non-productive governement job…America is over as we have known it…just like Jay…we all want our entitlements forever and ever…this is why America is over…Thanks leader Jay. You are a huge part of the problem. How about finding ways to help small businesses…oh that would be helping out the republicans…how about putting all the unemployed on the gulf coast and make it clear, you can pick up your check after a week of productive clean up.
andygrd
June 30th, 2010
12:32 pm
Help for Small Businesses…. The Current administration screwed them again… Read below:
In today’s Federal Register is the final rule, “Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2009-005, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects.” The rule directs federal agencies to favor PLAs on federal building projects, agreements that will increase the costs of taxpayer-funded construction while extending the reach and resources of organized labor. Sure, just what’s needed for a construction industry where one out of four workers is unemployed.
The final rule fleshes out one of President Obama’s first executive orders, Executive Order 13502, issued Feb. 6, 2009, which revoked President Bush’s 2001 executive order which required neutrality toward PLAs. Thus, no longer will PLAs be judged on their merits; the presumption in federal contracting policy is that they are a good thing.
Screw Small Businesses and Economic Growth,,, Great for the Unions…. Check that out JAY
Southern Comfort
June 30th, 2010
12:33 pm
Rick
Good luck on getting the 14th repealed. I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen.
md
If businesses are making their decisions on perceived implications instead of actual, how can any administration be held at fault. People could perceive me to be a threat just by my personal appearance, but if I give them no reason to see me as such, does that make me a threat?
md
June 30th, 2010
12:34 pm
“I’d like to hear from someone that can provide a reasonable vision of how the US is going to get back to 5% unemployment.”
Probably be when the next generation realizes that the standard of living has decreased and more folks are taking low wage jobs, which in turn will also solve the illegal immigrant problem.
The only way to sustain it would be to become isolationists and require US production and US purchases – so don’t count on it.
We are heading for a big reduction in lifestyle as a reality as service type jobs can only pay so much, and that is about all we have left.
Rightwing Troll
June 30th, 2010
12:35 pm
Scout needs to remember that the Marines are a division of the Navy…
Bubba
June 30th, 2010
12:37 pm
Hey guys, anybody remember this?
President Barack Obama on Saturday congratulated Congress for restoring a requirement that the federal government spend only what it can afford — a day after authorizing $1.9 trillion more federal debt.
Obama used his weekly radio address to report that he signed into law on Friday night the legislation commonly known on Capitol Hill as “Pay-Go,” which has been used sporadically over the past 20 years by congressional budget-writers. Obama also repeated his call for $20 billion in budget cuts, a freeze in certain government spending, and the creation of a fiscal commission.
TaxPayer
June 30th, 2010
12:38 pm
If only we had voted for McCain, we could have had Phil Gramm (the father of the undercover unregulated derivative) in charge of all that ails us, economically speaking. Then again, it is his baby.
Oldtimer
June 30th, 2010
12:38 pm
Prior to 2006 Republicans did overspend. Democrats took their place and have upped the spending to grossly irresponsible levels. They too will be replaced – hopefully by true conservatives.
By the way, Democrats managed to pass an unconstitutional healthcare bill that does not improve health services and actually raises the cost of healthcare for most Americans, The bill was simply a ploy to redistibute wealth. The bill was made law over the objections of the American people and the Republicans in congress.
Democrats are in charge. They could use the same railroading tactics and shady dealings to pass any legislation. The reason they don’t is that some Democrats are going into survival mode hoping againt hope to be reelected.