Today's news is all about how the Democrats in the Senate are going to garner enough votes to pass an extension of unemployment benefits. Republicans have fought the proposal because, they say, it will make the gargantuan budget deficit even worse.
The Republicans' concern for the deficit is one I've shared for decades and continue to share today. But my experience last year with the unemployment insurance system made me a big fan of, and forever grateful for, this "safety net" for people who are out of work through no fault of their own. When my brief severance pay expired, I signed up for unemployment and managed to make house payments with my unemployment benefits. Without that monthly direct deposit into my checking account, I would have dipped deeply into household savings and despair. Depression is a natural consequence of losing a job, having your routine and lifestyle wrenched out from under you. A government check to allow the unemployed time to search for a job, perhaps learn new skills and keep a roof over their heads does the individual and the economy a world of good. How much worse would consumer spending be if the unemployed had no income at all?
Jobless benefits cannot go on forever, but this recession has been especially brutal. People have been unemployed longer this time than in any previous post-war recession. An extension of unemployment provides benefits to the individual and to the economic recovery. This program can mean the difference between financial stability and suicide. The budget deficit looms and must be addressed, but not at the expense of the worst-injured casualties of this recession.
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