2 million Americans lose jobless benefits as holiday season arrives

That's Republican lovin' for you!

It's incredible to see America gradually slipping into third world status.

We'll likely see slums quickly sprouting up in major cities.

The "Bush/Reps created the problem" rant will be hard to maintain after 2 years Obama is in office. Wow... Obama "socialism" isn't even working. What could? Bail out the plebs, not the banks.

much better than Hello Work here in Japan. 3 months plus an additional 2 months and you're out. Max is like 1 year i think.

The Dems want to extend these unemployment payments. The GOP wants them 'paid for.' Pity they didn't say that about the 2 wars a Republican administration started. These payments have been shown to go straight back into the economy and help small businessees and keep the jobs the GOP says they want to grow and protect. Wow, how long has it been since the election - 3 weeks? Already the GOP's true anti-American colors are coming out. About the only thing sadder than that is watching conservatives supporting policies that kick them in the teeth time and time again.

Congressional opponents of extending the benefits beyond this month say fiscal responsibility should come first. Republicans in the House and Senate, along with a handful of conservative Democrats, say they’re open to extending benefits, but not if it means adding to the $13.8 trillion national debt.

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they want their cake and eat it too. How about not extending those tax cuts for people making over 500,000 ? A Gucci bag for those rich folks( like they need another Gucci bag ) can feed a poor family for weeks !!

The GOP needs to quit the games and vote for these benefits. Two million people are facing serious hardship while the GOP plays petty gotch politics. That's GOP lovin' for you!

What's gonna happen when the 67,000 TSA agents lose their ObamaJobs and these gropers are allowed on the streets and to mingle in the homeless shelters. =These are truly the most desperate of individuals at the end of their careers. Not even "I'm Loving It" McDonalds will take these ex-employees back.

I say cut all fed employees' pay in half and hire these unemployed. Have you seen what they are getting paid and for what?

Sushi, why didn't the dems pass it when they had all the power?

The bankers and stockbrokers are saying "let them eat cake" to the US the middle class. It would give me a world of satisfaction to see these fat cats suffer the same fate as Marie Antoinette. Let the armed struggle begin! Aux barricades citoyens!

If the U.S. government wants to slash the deficit, they could do it next week by cutting the U.S. defence budget - already something like 20 times larger than the defense budgets of the next 10 countries combined - by 25%.

But no - the GOP wouldn't have a bar of it.

Instead, we're left watching 2 million and more hard-working Americans and their families sink into finacial oblivion because the GOP won't support a Democrat bill that will add a few billion to the $13.8 trillion national debt the GOP was instrumental in burdening Americans with.

It should be pointed to some of the people here that the massive wave of Republicans elected in the most recent election don't take office until next January. Obama and his party still have the majority it would take to remedy this.

Some of the stories above break your heart. Reminds me of being young and unemployed during the dismal years of Jimmy Carter.

But then along came Ronald Reagan, deregulation, innovation, and a 25 - year run of prosperity the US and the world had not seen since the run we had in America after the Civil War and up until Wilson.

I still have faith that private charity is very much alive and that many Americans will discover or rediscover the joy and satisfaction in helping a neighbor down on their luck.

can you not see that BOTH of your so called parties are nothing but an extension of the big business and operate directly under the influence of the financial capital? people are having their thanksgiving meals in the community kitchens! any of us can be next.

elite and political class including both parties must be done with and the power of the state placed in the hands of the population before we even have a chance at a change we can believe in. as beelzebub said: to the barricades!

"But then along came Ronald Reagan, deregulation, innovation, and a 25 - year run of prosperity the US and the world had not seen since the run we had in America after the Civil War and up until Wilson."

Reagan ran up a level of debt second only to bush jnr.

It should be pointed to some of the people here that the massive wave of Republicans elected in the most recent election don't take office until next January. Obama and his party still have the majority it would take to remedy this.

Shh...just let them be.

But then along came Ronald Reagan, deregulation, innovation, and a 25 - year run of prosperity the US and the world had not seen since the run we had in America after the Civil War and up until Wilson.

LOL!! This is funny. Of course Ronald Reagan put all that "prosperity" [sic] on the credit card, increasing the national debt by nearly 200% -- more than any president in the modern age.

Noticably omitted in the mini-historical revision above are the Republican runs that led to the Great Depression in '29 and the latest one.

Boy. All of you people sound exactly like Michael Moore. I hope you were not the ones dissing him.

Sushisake:

" These payments have been shown to go straight back into the economy and help small businessees and keep the jobs the GOP says they want to grow and protect. "

Shown by who, exactly? Liberal economics if heavy on soundbytes but rather short on logic...

yabits:

" This is funny. Of course Ronald Reagan put all that "prosperity" [sic] on the credit card, increasing the national debt by nearly 200% "

Aren´t you forgetting Obama? He has managed to quadruple it, and without the little side effect of winning the Cold War.

Badsey:

" What's gonna happen when the 67,000 TSA agents lose their ObamaJobs and these gropers are allowed on the streets and to mingle in the homeless shelters. "

Or the 170,000 additional IRS employees who had to be hired to administer Obamacare... poor individuals. What would they do without the government and its unlimited supply of (your) money.

It's telling to see all the Bush Mega Debt apologists climbing out of the woodwork to block provision of critically needed money to ordinary Americans who were thrown out of work by the very policies the bush apologists supported. Just wait until a Bush Mega Debt apologist loses their job and changes their sorry tune.

WiliB - "Aren´t you forgetting Obama? He has managed to quadruple it, .."

No, aren't you purposely forgetting the global recession bush and the GOP handed Obama on a plate?

Such a conveniently short memory......

Badsey - "What would they do without the government and its unlimited supply of (your) money."

I guess it would be far more entertaining to just watch healthcare costs spiralling out of control like they were under the GOP, eh?

Aren´t you forgetting Obama? He has managed to quadruple it...

You are much better at slandering religions than you are at math.

Obama has by no means quadrupled the national debt.

Flashback to the year 2000:

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was actually warning Americans that, due to the surpluses, America had to be careful about paying down too much of its national debt too soon. (What a problem to have.)

Well, George W. Bush and the Republican-led Congress sure "fixed" that situation. Red ink was projected again in August 2001, soon after the first round of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy were passed into law -- and before the attacks of 9/11.

It would give me a world of satisfaction to see these fat cats suffer the same fate as Marie Antoinette.

Yes, a part of me feels exactly the same. Especially those who are growing rich foreclosing on others, as well as the cheats who caused the mess in the first place by trying to shuffle off bad debt as AAA-rated bonds.

I don't believe it would take more than doing it to a handful.

Meanwhile corporations just reported their highest total profit ever for a single quarter and are sitting on record amounts of cash.

Welcome to capitalism.

And as some posters here said on said on other threads.

It is their choice to be unemployed, etc as if you want to work you will find someone that will hire you. Being out of a job, etc is no-ones fault except your own according to those same posters.

there are plenty of jobs in the western states, just pick fruits and work out in the fields... what your above that kind of work? guess ur gonna stay unemployed and some immigrant will go do the work.

Psyops.

Easy said, who will cover the relocation fees, etc. Never mind the stress on putting kids into new schools, etc.

All nice till you need to do it yourself.

While I do not doubt that many are jobless and the whole unemployment thing a horrible mess, I also wonder what percent cannot find jobs, and what percent will not take the jobs that are available. And this has much to do with our society and the undeniable fact that Americans (myself very much included) are somewhat spoiled and entitled in this day and age. What I'm getting at is - what is the actual jobless rate due to people not being able to find a job, as compared to the jobless rate where people simply will not take the jobs that are available because they involve undesirable work and low pay? I'm not saying this from a right-wing 'those people are just too lazy to work' attitude, but rather what I've experienced myself, and have witnessed through friends and observation.

I was unemployed about eight years ago for a stretch because the start-up company I worked for couldn't make it. My unemployment benefits were higher than many jobs I found, so it prolonged my unemployment. I have a good friend who has been unemployed for almost a year. He was a drug rep (no, not a drug dealer - well, the legal kind anyway) with a 60K salary. He lost his job because of the economy but refuses to take anything less, or at least substantially less than what he was making - which excludes him from just about anything in the area where he lives. I can't tell you how many times on the but or the train I've heard people say - they're hiring at McDonald's or some place equally as horrible, but then quickly ad 'but I wouldn't do that!'.

During the great depression we had the formerly comfortable quite literally selling apples or pencils on the street corner, and lots of folks tramped off to CCC camps to work for little more than three hot meals a day. Fast-forward to today where we hire cheap immigrant labor to do the jobs most of us do not wish to do. I see a fair amount of job openings posted in the city in which I live - just not jobs that pay tremendously well. How many people are unemployed simply because they will not take lower paying jobs or are 'holding out' for something in their chosen profession?

To topic, the hold-outs then use up benefit monies that could be used by those who truly cannot find jobs. And yes, I realize people pay into the system for unemployment insurance to receive such benefits - but my friend the drug rep had job offers in retail sales and driving delivery trucks that he refused. He could be working and getting by. I just wonder how many others are in similar situations. The unemployment rate is high, but is it made worse by American entitlement?

'on the but' should be on the bus of course. Although I was on by butt on the bus.

tigermoth.

Tough call. Hard to get the same salary and if you try to go lower you are either over qualified, don't have enough experience, etc and competing with a ton of other guys.

They could have waited until after Christmas.

So much focus on presents... Why can't Christmas be celebrated by being with family and friends, playing some games, or even singing some carols? Why does it have to be ruined by not having presents?

Just edge away from this material culture for once and appreciate what you all have right in front of you!

Heres the thing, for those decrying this horrible action. These unemployment benefits are up to 99 weeks already. The question is, for how much longer should they be extended? What, you think that 2 years isn't long enough, people should be able to suck at the government teat for 10 years or more? Heres the reality. When you are unemployed, and yet getting money, there is little to no motivation to go out and get a job. When the paychecks run out, you suddenly are motivated, and become willing to work at a less then optimal job. Eventually your desire for improvement kicks in, and you end up going and getting a bit more education, and finding a better job. This has been borne out repeatedly both here and in Europe. Denmark for example used to offer some of the longest benefits around. They discovered that people remained unemployed, until right up to the time when they would lose their benefits. Then suddenly, they found a job.

Its time to end this free lunch. Time these people stopped sucking at the government teat, got off their butts and found jobs. The longer this goes on, the more it costs taxpayers. We simply cannot afford it anymore. 99 weeks is way more then enough.

Eventually your desire for improvement kicks in, and you end up going and getting a bit more education, and finding a better job.

In normal economic times, this tends to work. These are not normal economic times.

This has been borne out repeatedly both here and in Europe.

I don't believe you know what is really going on in Denmark. There might have been a mere handful of chronically unemployed, but never more than that.

Its time to end this free lunch. Time these people stopped sucking at the government teat, got off their butts and found jobs

You are out of touch with reality. Very typical.

So, during the Great Depression, it was sheer laziness of people who were out of work. Suddenly, 25% of the US workforce became lazy and started looking for a free lunch. That's what you're claiming. The same is true now, although we haven't hit that rate of unemployment.

If your economy is not creating jobs, there won't be jobs for people to "find." If they can't find work, it sounds as though you want to see them starve.

I don't believe you know what is really going on in Denmark. There might have been a mere handful of chronically unemployed, but never more than that.

You just proved your own lack of knowledge. A simple glace at the data, reveals everything. I refer specifically to the graph, when people began their unemployment, and the time they went off. It shows a huge uptick in employment right when their benefits expire.

You are out of touch with reality. Very typical.

As the above paragraph proves, its yourself who lacks touch with reality.

So, during the Great Depression, it was sheer laziness of people who were out of work. Suddenly, 25% of the US workforce became lazy and started looking for a free lunch. That's what you're claiming. The same is true now, although we haven't hit that rate of unemployment.

Not true at all. And the unemployment rate is that high if you include those who aren't bothering to look for work, and those who are underemployed. Though of course it varies from state to state. It doesn't have to do with laziness, it has to do with the free lunch. If you are getting a steady paycheck, without having to do anything to earn it, where is the motivation to go out and find a job. Instead you can kick back, and let the checks roll in.

If your economy is not creating jobs, there won't be jobs for people to "find." If they can't find work, it sounds as though you want to see them starve.

What I want, is for them to go out and get a job. McDonalds is hiring. It may not be the best job in the world, but its a paycheck. And its a start. Work there for a few months, while looking for a better job. Its better for these neverending benefits to expire, to encourage these people to actually go out and look for work, rather then constantly passing up good jobs because they make more off the benefits, without having to do anything.

The iceberg has been hit and people are arguing about what to do with the people locked in on the lower decks. Some smug fools think they are safe on their lifeboats.

Wake up. The USA runs huge government deficits because that is what makes people rich. The American public is in massive personal debt because that is what makes people rich. But now the debt machine has flipped into reverse, and the real economy was packed up and sent to China.

The unemployed of today are just the canaries in the coal mine. The fraud was fun while it lasted, but it couldn't last forever. The big question now is what is the endgame. The "rich" think they can keep their "money", but when money starts dieing, who has the most to lose?

Sympathy for the long term unemployed, they are the victims of superstition and ignorance. The economic Dark Ages have arrived.

The economic Dark Ages have arrived.

I am very nearly as pessimistic as you, though not for the same reasons. I don't buy into the argument that it is debt which sustains the economy. The Fed though, is part of the problem, and monetizing the debt, is not the solution. That really does lead to the dark times.

Molenir at 05:35 AM JST - 2nd December. Its time to end this free lunch. Time these people stopped sucking at the government teat, got off their butts and found jobs. The longer this goes on, the more it costs taxpayers. We simply cannot afford it anymore. 99 weeks is way more then enough.

Your right. However, this does not apply only to unemployment insurance. The welfare system in the U.S. has major problems. There are many people that have legimate claims, but also, many are taking advantage of the system and receiving handouts. In California election this year for govenor, Whitman tried to limit all welfare receipants to two years maxium. California has 30 percent of all the welfare receipants in the U.S. and alot of these people receiving benefits are falsely claimed. Problem is that the govenment does not have enough resources to check and verifiy the eligibility of their claims. If you get caught, there is no severe penalty. Maybe they need to change laws on cheaters to make it criminal case. There is also a huge illegal immigrants issues, primarily from Mexico on border states. They take majority of the lower paying jobs affecting overall employment statistics. Besides tight credit in the banking industry, it's very hard for small business to borrorw money to expand.

Governments cannot create prosperity. How many times do people need to hear this? The 1 trillion dollar payoff Obama and his party made to state governments and the unions, dressed up as a "stimulus package," was nonetheless a harmful form of artificial intervention in the economy. Taxpayers foot the bill, money that could have been invested in worthwhile projects which would have created jobs was diverted into pork projects and swelling union ranks with more positions but little being created and sold...

The 1 trillion dollar payoff Obama and his party made to state governments and the unions

They paid off the banks. If you don't understand that, and insist on going off on irrelevant tangents, then not much anybody can do to help you.

I don't buy into the argument that it is debt which sustains the economy.

Debt is money. Money is debt. They are the same thing. That is like saying you don't think money sustains the economy.

Tigermouth: What I'm getting at is - what is the actual jobless rate due to people not being able to find a job, as compared to the jobless rate where people simply will not take the jobs that are available because they involve undesirable work and low pay? I'm not saying this from a right-wing 'those people are just too lazy to work' attitude, but rather what I've experienced myself, and have witnessed through friends and observation.

I have a friend who is on welfare but soon realized that the low paying jobs pay the same amount as welfare so what's the point in looking? In all reality you're going to take 40 hours of your week away from your ability to find a job you're better qualified for. Do you think the McDonald's manager will give you time off once a week to go on a job interview? And do you think a prospective white collar employee is going to like hearing that your schedule is limited for interviews because you're working at McDonalds?

And doesn't that show the sad state of affairs when someone's only option is to get a job that pays the same amount as welfare? What does that say about wages?

And the final issue is over qualification. It might sound easy to walk in the door and get a job doing manual labor but managers know what they are hiring. They don't want a professional stepping down a few levels because they know they're hiring someone who is doing their best to leave the job as quickly as possible. Then the manager has to start the process all over again. Yuo also have management issues with some employees coming from a different background with different procedures and expectations mixed in with people who have worked for minimum wage all their lives. Not a great situation.

Obama's hapless defenders and loyal fanboys put up an admirable barrage of excuses and lies and dissembling but the fact is the majority of the American people believe that the Democrats own the mess we are in.

Maybe our dear president elect, Mr.Obama can play Santa Clause and bring these 2 million Americans benefits again right before Christmas and Kwanza.

In all reality you're going to take 40 hours of your week away from your ability to find a job you're better qualified for. Do you think the McDonald's manager will give you time off once a week to go on a job interview? And do you think a prospective white collar employee is going to like hearing that your schedule is limited for interviews because you're working at McDonalds?

Do you think the HR person will like a 2 year gap in employment? Or would they prefer to see that you worked at McDonalds, and Best Buy to make ends meet? I know which one I'd look for, if I was hiring. And its not the one who sat on their butt for 2 years.

And as for McDonalds, if the people show up, and are willing to work, they'll hire em. It will be pretty low paying, but its an entry level position. If they have other experience, they are likely to be able to quickly move up into crew leader, or managerial positions. And actually having a job, makes it much easier to get another one.