Friday, July 02, 2010

Baker Wants to Cut Unemployment Benefits

His plan would have stripped more than 11,200 people from their unemployment benefits, in the face of the greatest recession this country has seen since the Great Depression, had he been in charge and got his way.

6 comments:

Middleboro Remembers said...

Has anyone checked his feet lately? They seem to be spending a lot of time in his mouth, particularly the casino issue.

Each $1 in unemployment benefits returns the equivalent of $1.93 to the economy. If you lack the compassion to recognize the important of unemploymnent as support, from the standpoint of 'economic stimulus' it affords one of the highest returns.

The Republicans support tax cuts which create the least return.

Anonymous said...

SOURCE

Each $1 in unemployment benefits returns the equivalent of $1.93 to the economy.

Ryan said...

Anon, that's from the Congressional Budget Office. Google is your friend.

Enjoy. http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10803/01-14-Employment.pdf#page=26

Imjustmusing said...

In the short term, yes, unemployment will help the economy. In the long run, it will hurt it. Why? The money for unemployment comes from two places, unemployment taxes deducted from employees taxes from employers. The more people unemployed, or the longer they collect, the more these taxes will necessarily have to rise. As they rise, the employee will have less disposable income to spend and the employer will have less profit (like it or not profit is what keeps the economy going) which means he willnot be able to expand. It will also mean less demand, which will in turn cause more layoffs and more unemployment.
Eventually the non-workers will number more than the workers can support.
http://itsclearasmud.blogspot.com/2010/07/foxnewscom-pelosi-unemployment-checks.html

Ryan said...

Musing, you're confused here. The Government has picked up the dime for the extended unemployment benefits in this recession. That's not to say that companies aren't paying unemployment insurance, but they haven't had that increased on them AFAIK.

Additionally, the idea behind stimulus spending on things like unemployment benefits is to keep the economy afloat until it can recover on its own. Without the stimulus, we could have fallen into depression... which would have been much, much worse than anything I think any of us can well imagine.

Anonymous said...

I want to go on the record to say that I do not like the vote to sever the unemployment checks of thousands of individuals and their families.
However, I would like to offer an opportunity to those that sit and complain about these votes, to start thinking outside the box.
As long as we let our complaints be just venting, we are not solving the problems.
I am seeing, on a daily basis, the havoc that is being created, because people are not coming forward with their fabulous ideas and their creativity to solve these issues.
If you are fortunate enough to have a job than, please, just take some of your own time to consider those that do not.
By consider, I mean, please, help us all by uniting with your ideas, for building upon these ideas to create new jobs and new businesses.
The libraries are being used, now, more than ever, for helping to resolve the unemployment issues.
People are sending thousand of resumes out there from the libraries, so it does not mean that people are not searching for these jobs. They are.
Please, help. Send your ideas to the Middleborough Gazette or the Standard Times or the Brockton Enterprise.
Send them to the town fathers, the governor, the representatives, anyone that shares in the votes or the preplanning of the workforce development.
We need to work together.

About Ryan's Take