"MORE CASH IN PEOPLE'S POCKETS" NOT EXTENDED TO UNEMPLOYED
President Bush has promoted and defended his tax cuts by saying that
"when Americans have more money in their pocket to spend, to save or
invest, the whole country benefits and someone is more likely to find a
job." But the president has apparently not applied this thinking to
unemployment benefits, which are likely to be spent quickly as emergency
funding for families without other income. The Republican Congress is
allowing unemployment benefits to expire over the holidays, even as the
percentage of chronically unemployed is its highest in more than 10
years.
The president argued as a candidate and through his first year in office
that, "it is compassionate to actively help our fellow citizens in
need." But the president's unwillingness, for the second time in two
years, to promote the extension seems to undermine that rhetoric.
Ultimately, the responsibility for passing the extension lies with the
Republican Congress, whose leaders have argued that extension of
benefits is unnecessary because of the improving economy. But new
jobless claims unexpectedly went up last week, the highest level in six
weeks.
The president has asked Congress in the past, sometimes forcefully, to
take action on bills he considers a priority, most recently when he
asked Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to reconvene the Senate to vote
on the omnibus appropriations bill. (Frist declined.) In fact, when
running in 2000, Bush chastised the Republican House for proposing to
eliminate tax credits for working families in order to save money,
saying, "I don't think [Congress] ought to balance their budget on the
backs of the poor." But in this instance, the White House has simply
reiterated its line on jobs, saying yesterday, "as long as there are
people looking for work who cannot find a job, there is more that we
need to do," and that, "we'll continue working with Congress on that
issue."
The number of chronically unemployed is at an 11-year high, with over 2
million active job seekers out of work for 27 weeks or more -- more
than 50 percent greater in October 2003 than in March 2002. The Center
for Budget and Policy Priorities The Center for Budget and Policy
Priorities estimates that between 80,000 and 90,000 workers per week
will lose access to benefits.
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