While the continuation of the tax cuts for the rich appears to be a near-certainty, the extension of special funding for approximately 2 million long-term unemployed American workers is unlikely to be met by the November 30 deadline. This means that benefits will immediately dry up for 800,000 workers, followed by another 1.2 million by the end of December.
According to most media accounts, there is virtually no chance the jobless benefits extension will be acted on by November 30. After that, liberal Democrats may barter away tax cuts for the rich for an agreement on the extension of the long-term benefits until next year, when the program is almost certain to be scrapped. But other Democrats have indicated they might propose a bill that would gradually draw down the benefits. “There is a desire to see that any reduction in weeks be connected to the state of the economy,” a Democratic congressional aide told the Wall Street Journal.
The tale of the two extensions—jobless benefits for the unemployed and tax cuts for the rich—exposes the blatant hypocrisy of the supposed “concern” in ruling circles over deficit spending. The long-term unemployed benefits would likely cost about $35 billion for six months, the same price tag, on an annualized basis, as the cost of the extension of the tax cuts for the rich.
Naturally UI benefits the economy, while the rich just sit on their stupid asses and hoard the money.
The economy dies as a result.
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