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News Update: View House passes extension of unemployment benefits, without COBRA

Perhaps it’s wise, as Harry Reid sees it, for Congress to extend unemployment benefits and COBRA. Certainly, helping those who are out of work through no fault of their own deserve a temporary helping hand from their fellow citizens.

But what is not wise is the manner in which he and his fellow Democrats plan to do it.

Reid believes that it is best to simply borrow the money and worry about paying it back at some future time. This, despite the fact that the U.S. is experiencing its largest deficit in 225 years of existence, and the money would likely be borrowed from China, a country which ironically stole millions of jobs from Americans through unfair trade practices.

Senate and House Republicans want to use funds already allocated as “stimulus” money by the Obama Administration, as well as cuts elsewhere in the federal budget to curtail runaway spending.

Reid has said that extending unemployment benefits and COBRA would help to bolster the economy, yet he wants to hoist the payback for that extension onto our children and grandchildren. Borrowing money from China will not help to bolster the economy. Using money already allocated for bolstering the economy for that purpose makes one heck of a lot of sense.

Spending wisely in these difficult times — or even in times of prosperity, for that matter — seems like the wise thing to do. And if the Democrats agreed to do just that, unemployed Americans might find their benefits restored, and it will have been done in a responsible manner.

But what do I know? I also believe that Congress should once and for all fund the National Flood Insurance Program (it has expired three times in the past year, and will expire again in November) to encourage home sales and protect citizens’ property; and that Congress and the president should have listened to the American people, who overwhelmingly opposed the forced imposition of health care reform.

And they call them “trusted public servants?”

21 Responses

1. Mitchell Johnson Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 10:31 am

   I am with the Republicans,, let use some of the pork $$ from the stimulus to extend the unemployment,, isn’t that what this is? A Stimulus to the unemployed? If we have to borrow, why not borrow from small towns and cities you have a surplus of funds. I live in a small to mid size town in Texas(georgetown) that has 10 million is surplus from sales taxs from the new walmart, new home depot, and just the new growth in the area, they are the county seat. They have just announced 3 additional parks,, more roads,. We already have about 20+ parks that are beautiful, no more roads. They have this surplus but yet raised our school and property taxs and gave a raise to the city workers. So,, why not borrow from our own smaller governments around the country.

2. jobless Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 11:17 am

   I have been unemployed since June 2009. I lost my job because I got a new boss that did not believe that women where good enough for my position.(I was not the only women to be let go from the company.) I am 33 years old and I have 7 children. I have worked since I was 15 years old. My husband was deported because they claim they couldn’t prove he was legal. I just lost my unemployment last month and have now started to struggle. I just received a letter saying that I am about to lose the house I just bought in May of last year and my car is up for repo. I still have money left in my unemployment account but can not get it until they pass the extension. Even if I would have to pay the money back when I get a job then I would rather do that than to be homeless with 7 kids. I don’t have any family to turn to and if they don’t extend it I wouldn’t know what to do. I have enrolled in college to obtain a medical degree but that isn’t going to be received for a few years. So now what? I am trying so hard to find work but if my car gets repo how can I find work? I can’t afford to take a bus. I never though I would ever apply for government assistance ( food stamps/welfare /medicaid) but I guess I have no choice now.

3. J Scholz Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 11:43 am

   The Recession of 1937 – this is what we are headed for. Focusing on deficit reduction prior to exiting a recession will create a backslide. It’s happened in the past and there is nothing to suggest that it wouldn’t happen again as it’s a simple economic principle. To cancel a bridge project that would employ 100 people for a year in order to pay for unemployment benefits for the same people is counter-intuitive. The $33B over 10 years has a ridiculously low impact and equates to approximately $26/year for each tax payer (186M last I saw) but everyone has been made so afraid of the deficit that now people think that $26/year will mean that our children won’t be able to eat. To put it into perspective, the $33B would be equivalent to the impact that 1 $30 meal would have to your ability to pay off a $300K mortgage over 30 years. Would that 1 time $30 fee really prevent you from paying off your mortgage (this is based on the fact that the $33B would increase the deficit by .01%). Having a MS in Economics (and being employed so being unbiased), I can guarantee you that the impact of not extending unemployment will FAR outweigh the $33B over ten years. Unfortunately, fear and ignorance is driving the nation at this point so there is no reason to believe that things will improve anytime soon.

   By the spring of 1937, production, profits, and wages had regained their 1929 levels. Unemployment remained high, but it was considerably lower than the 25% rate seen in 1933. In June 1937, some of Roosevelt’s advisors urged spending cuts to balance the budget. WPA rolls were drastically cut and PWA projects were slowed to a standstill.[3] The American economy took a sharp downturn in mid-1937, lasting for 13 months through most of 1938. Industrial production declined almost 30 per cent and production of durable goods fell even faster.
   Unemployment jumped from 14.3% in 1937 to 19.0% in 1938, rising from 5 million to more than 12 million in early 1938.[4] Manufacturing output fell by 37% from the 1937 peak and was back to 1934 levels.[5] Producers reduced their expenditures on durable goods, and inventories declined, but personal income was only 15% lower than it had been at the peak in 1937. In most sectors, hourly earnings continued to rise throughout the recession, which partly compensated for the reduction in the number of hours worked. As unemployment rose, consumers’ expenditures declined, leading to further cutbacks in production.

4. Vicki Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 12:02 pm

   It is not a stimulus, it is an emergency…just ask any unemployed person that has been long term employed, not for lack of looking, but for lack of hiring. How about we penalize all those big corporations for sending jobs overseas and give them an incentive to bring jobs back? How about the Republicans start taxing their wealthy friends? How about we stop funding their vacations, breaks and health care benefits so that they are truly the public servants they are supposed to be? Now you tell me, where’s the pork?

5. Tony Ondrusek Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 12:35 pm

   Vicki, if it is an emergency (and I am not disagreeing with you that it is), then why doesn’t the president do something about it?

   He is the commander in chief, for goodness sake! How about implementing some programs to get people back to work, start some civilian work programs, start some incentives that will allow small businesses to start hiring again? Small businesses make up the vast majority of employers in this country, yet the president is acting like they don’t even exist.

   He is doing everything but address the issue of unemployment. Extending benefits is like putting a bandage on someone when they get their leg cut off. It does absolutely nothing to stop the bleeding.

   He needs to do some serious stuff to staunch this flow of job loss. If he does, he could go down in history as a great president. However, it appears that he is simply ignoring the problem.

   There are billions of dollars in stimulus funds sitting around unused. Most of the other funds have either gone to big corporations (as you stated) or to state governments to keep their programs running. None has gone to create new jobs.

   Since we have billions sitting in a bank (basically) waiting to be used, why not give it to the unemployed instead of borrowing billions of dollars from China?

   Or do you seriously propose that we dig ourselves into deeper debt and make the problem worse?

6. TIA Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 12:38 pm

   extend unemployment- hard working Americans are sick of being shafted, want to save $$$ somewhere- revamp welfare and disability payments!!!!
   we need unemployment extended while we try and get jobs and get our lives back in order- thanks to our politicians

7. Ed Prod Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 3:36 pm

   “Congress and the president should have listened to the American people, who overwhelmingly opposed the forced imposition of health care reform.” Are you crazy? What slanted Fox poll did you did up for this profound statement?

8. Tony Ondrusek Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 4:50 pm

   Ed, never even considered going to a Fox News Poll.

   From Rasmussen Report, frequently quoted by ABC, CBS, NBC, and even such “slanted” shows as the Colbert Report, Jimmy Fallon and The West Wing:
   “The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone poll, taken Friday and Saturday nights, shows that 41% of likely voters favor the health care plan. Fifty-four percent (54%) are opposed. These figures have barely budged in recent months.”

   USA Today/Gallup Poll: 50% oppose, 45% in favor

   CBS News: 47% oppose, 43% in favor

   CNN Opinion Research: 56% oppose, 43% in favor

9. David Rees Says:
   July 14th, 2010 at 6:38 pm

   I say we should add a tax to all pop & beer, and sports tickets to pay for the unemployed to recieve their extended benfits,if you got money for sports events and nightclubs then they can pay more because the unemployed cant enjoy those small pleasures and are lucky to eat and pay the rent.also all new cars over 20,000.00 could be taxed to help pay for the unemployed you bet they are not enjoying much of anything say a 500.00 tax on new cars . bet this would help.

10. Wants to Work Says:
    July 14th, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    I was laid off just days after window for receiving the COBRA subsidy. As a result, I don’t qualify for the 65% payment reduction for fifteen months. I was able to keep my job because I was a better employee than those who were laid off before me, but I get shafted as a result. THIS IS UNFAIR.

    COBRA payments and health insurance are extremely expensive. This is not an extension of unemployment. COBRA subsidies go directly to coverage providers as part of a tax credit. It is a very good thing in a horrible economy. I would be extremely pleased if those in my situation even received partial benefits. Give me a 35% subsidy for 12 months. Anything would make a HUGE difference for me right now.

    Too many of you above assume this is some unemployment benefit. There is no extension of benefits for those who have been milking the system for months or even years. People who were working and were victims of the poor economy can use some assistance to get from one job to the next. That is what COBRA does and the subsidy would make it even better if only for a short time.

    The net result is going to be a major collapse in spending at the same time when those who were receiving the subsidy lose it. They will have less disposable income along with those who never received the subsidy. Add in a few catastrophic health care incidents and even more people will start defaulting on their mortgages. The subsidy program was good intentioned when it began, but it was probably a bit too generous. That doesn’t mean we should go cold turkey right now and end it before it can complete the good work it has done so far.

11. Troy Says:
    July 14th, 2010 at 8:35 pm

    I hear a lot about the deficit when it comes to unemployment or the Cobra Subsidy. I never hear about it when it comes to Iraq, Afghanistan or the Bush Tax Cut Extension. I didn’t even hear about it with the Medicare Drug Plan which was, of course, unfunded. If you are worried about the deficit, let the Bush tax cuts expire, get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

12. Patty Says:
    July 14th, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    I’ll bet every one here who opposes health care reform and extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits because it is adding to the deficit, don’t have any objections to printing money for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Printing war money and adding to the deficit for war is okay with Republicans…spending on social programs here at home is not. Oh well, no consistency is the rule and has always been.

13. Russell& Dee Says:
    July 14th, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    What is it going to take to finally convince the American public we are losing evrything we have known ,jobs, homes ,cars & families to this go for broke spending, pay for this extentions with out the pork so unemployed americans can at least sleep & eat while the congress people worry about moving into $15ooo a month offices while we unemployed are looking down the gun of foreclosure & reposing of our property, while they all have their homes & life,& MrPresident create those jobs you promised before we all are on welfare which the States can not afford oh thats right you will turn away from the promise & blame it on President Bush fr this , have some balls & take resposibility and be a President not a puppet

14. IXLNXS Says:
    July 15th, 2010 at 6:33 am

    It was wise to bail out banks.

    It was wise to bail out wall street.

    It was wise to attack Iraq for non existent weapons in retaliation to a non existent attack on the world trade center.

    It was wise to go to war with Afghanistan sending 100′s of thousands of troops to wipe out less than a 100 die hard Pashtie fighters.

    It was wise to give a huge government handout to the Pharmaceutical Industry courtesy the Prescription Drug legislation.

    It was wise to give a huge handout to the health insurance agency through the Health Reform Act.

    It is wise to offshore American jobs.

    It is wise to not enforce illegal imigration laws. These are only 12 million jobs Americans won’t do after all. And it is wise that illegal immigrants work for less thus driving down the wage an hour American citizens make.

    It is wise to downsize companies and do mass layoffs to shed companys of older workers. Less benefits to pay out. Lower overall health insurance to those remaining. Pay less for new replacements who are hired on as contract or part time workers to avoid paying any benefits.

    It is wise to send money to Israel every year. It was even wiser for Obama to promise a little nuclear present for his best new bud Netty.

    It is wise to allow deep water drilling without regulation. As wise also to allow those who broke it to fix it without regulation. The safety and regulation would have cost the companys involved incredibly small amounts of their profits.

    Nothing to see here wage slaves. You masters are wise.

15. Jennifer Says:
    July 15th, 2010 at 8:25 am

    I’m beginning to wonder when opponents of unemployment and COBRA benefit extensions will realize what the consequences of these nay votes will bring. Will it be when their best friend, brother, sister, daughter, son cannot afford even the basics life necessities? Or will it happnen when the in five years, we are still arguing the same issues, with no change let alone, progress.

    I believe we have to reduce military spending, but be careful! No one really has a clue just how much is spent and where it goes. All you see are the wars. You don’t see the undercover wars, the torture, the testing, the mercinaries (who, btw, are not held accountable under any law in this country), the machinery, the airplanes, and most embarrassing, the third-party outsourcing waste. It is never published, nor is it supervised or audited by the GAO. Quit watching the news and start doing some research about how the money leaking out of our country faster than that cute little pool of oil in the Gulf. And if you want to get on that bandwagon, do some research about all of the trash dumps in our oceans. And when you’re at Wal-Mart, you might want to reconsider why you need a case of bottled water and where those bottles go after you throw them in the trash.

16. Tony Ondrusek Says:
    July 15th, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    Jennifer, who exactly is opposed to unemployment and COBRA benefit extensions?

    Not me.

    And not any of the people who have left comments here.

    The issue is where the money is coming from to pay those benefits.

    The Democrats want to borrow a few billion dollars from China, and put our country into further debt. Our current U.S. debt is in excess of $13 trillion, of which $5 trillion is held by foreign nations. We are not talking about “billions,” but “trillions.” And the Democrats think that it is wise to add to that debt, and owe China even more.

    The Republicans want to fund the extensions with money that has already been allocated to the economic recovery. That money is just sitting there gathering dust right now, because frankly, the president is doing nothing with it to create new jobs. So the Republicans are saying, “Hey, the money is already there, you aren’t using it for anything else, and we have folks who are unemployed and need a hand. We propose to use that money instead of throwing our country into an even deeper recession.”

    As an added benefit, folks who want to stick it to corporations (not saying that is you) can have the added knowledge that the “stimulus” money used for unemployed workers will not go to fund some rich fat cat on Wall Street.

    So the question is, do you want to give stimulus money to executives on Wall Street and borrow money from China (increasing our federal deficit) to extend unemployment benefits, or would you prefer that the money set aside for Wall Street executives be given to unemployed workers, and at the same time not increase the national debt?

    Unfortunately, the ones who should be doing something to end the unemployment (the president and Congress) are doing absolutely nothing to create new jobs, and instead want to throw the U.S. into deeper debt.

    Is this a great country, or what?

17. Steve Says:
    July 16th, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    It is interesting reading the back & forth comments and especially the ones quoting polls. Polls, by the nature of the questions asked, are biased and shouldn’t be used by anyone to reinforce their opinion. Ask someone who is working and has good medical insurance coverage and they are probably against health care reform. Ask the same person when they are unemployed and have no health insurance coverage, or their boss just cut their health insurance altogether, or they just plain can’t afford it anymore, and they will probably be all for health care reform.

    Reading about the intricacies of financing unemployment benefits and extending the cobra subsidies is amazing to me. I am employed and have expensive, but have it, health insurance coverage. All our Congress persons should go out into the public and speak to those who have NO money because Congress let their unemployment benefits expire, who have NO health insurance coverage because again, the same Congress let the Cobra subsidy expire. If they did that, or if each of you that think the Republican filibuster is a “good” thing and/or want to argue the finer points of the “long-term” national debt had to walk in the unemployed, un-insured’s shoes, I guarantee, that just like the polls, your responses here would be very different.

    Like one person already said, let’s not repeat the failed policies of 1937. We need to get people working, whatever it takes, because working people pay taxes, which keeps this treadmill going.

    By the way the President can set policy, but only Congress can spend the money, create the pork and cause such mayhem with the people of this country.

18. IXLNXS Says:
    July 17th, 2010 at 11:35 pm

    It is time for The Gallows to be built in the Washington Mall.

    Enough is enough. It is OUR country, Americans, not corporations who have shown their only allegence is to money.

    Build the Gallows. Start hanging politicians. How fast you think they’ll start voting for the good of the citizenry rather than the global ambitions of the companys who fill their war chest?

    Kinda hard to spend that war chest if you’re dead.

    Tired of the Tea Party? Join The Gallows.

    Real representation or else.

19. Nocobraalllost Says:
    July 21st, 2010 at 11:05 am

    There is no cobra extension. It does not matter how much money I get now, my cobra payment will increase to almost 1000.00 dollars a month….all is still lost. How can 1200.00 a month in umemployment pay for my cobra now. So for most all is still lost. YOU [expletive deleted] have now caused millions to lose their heath care insurance for whole families. YOU HEARTLESS [expletive deleted]. What has happened to the country I love.

20. CobraProb Says:
    July 22nd, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    I think these guys screwed up.
    Although extending unemployment is a good thing for those long unemployed, as someone just stated…the average family cobra is about 1100k a month…the average unemployement benefit is 1100/mo.
    What a coincidence!

    So what does this mean to my family now that I am laid off?
    It means I must choose between paying my mortgage and/or eating or paying for health insurance.

    At least for those who lost jobs before June, there was better than a zero real benefit.

    And get this one…one of my co-workers just got laid off too.. her husband was just diagnosed with a brain tumor…oh well…I guess he will just have to deal with having a brain tumor and hope he lives long enough to get coverage…oh yeah, he can’t…pre-existing condition.
    (unless of course they can pay 1100/mo Cobra…which they CANT)

    Note: I don’t like govt spending either but this cobra subsidy idea was a brilliant short term fix for those who needed it most…too generous?…perhaps a bit…but they should have granted at least 6 mos cobra subsidy for those newly unemployed. There is no one that would claim that this benefit would be used as a disincentive to work as some claim a long term unemployment extension would.
    I really don’t know who the moron was that thought Cobra was a poison pill in the new law…but that person was a complete idiot.

    We need cobra help to bridge the gap to a new job.

    The economy will end up paying for it one way or another anyways.

    An ideal law would be that cobra would be available for 18 months with a 25% discount paid by insurance co and 25% discount subsidized by govt.
    That is a law that is long term sustainable.

    Unfortunately, that wont get negotiated any time soon…
    Any chance Cobra comes up in new legislation?
    Does anyone know? or is it totally dead?

21. Tony Ondrusek Says:
    July 22nd, 2010 at 4:55 pm

    Unfortunately, CobraProb, it appears to be dead.
    Please see this link to a story just posted today: http://ifawebnews.com/2010/07/22/house-passes-extension-of-unemployment-benefits-without-cobra/

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