Poll: Majority Support For Extending Unemployment Benefits
A new poll indicates majority support for the idea of extending unemployment benefits:
Washington (CNN) – As a push to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed faces an uncertain future in Congress, a new national poll indicates majority support for a three-month extension.
According to a Quinnipiac University survey, 58% of registered voters nationwide say they favor a three-month extension of the benefits for people currently out of work.
The poll, which was released Wednesday, indicates a partisan divide, with overwhelming support from Democrats (83%-13%), majority backing from independents (54%-41%), and opposition from Republicans by a 54%-42% margin.
Thanks to support from six Republican lawmakers, the legislation passed an initial procedural hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday, but some of those Republicans say they will pull their support unless Democrats come up with a way to pay for the $6.4 billion bill.
This comes as the Senate bill to extend these benefits faces another preliminary vote in the Senate, perhaps as early as today. The bill passed its first cloture vote earlier in the week thanks to the support of six Republicans, but its unclear what the outcome of this next series of votes that would eventually lead to a final vote on the merits will actually be. Republicans in the Senate and the House are both insisting that there be offsets, or what Washington calls “pay-fors,” in the bill and the argument in the Senate right now is over how many “pay-for” Amendments Harry Reid is going to allow the Senate to put forward. Even if the bill passes the Senate, though, its ultimate fate in the House remains exceedingly unclear.
One significant event that could have an influence on the debate is tomorrow’s release of the December Jobs Report. The content of those numbers is likely to be used by both sides to argue their case in some respect, but it will be the two top-line numbers, both the “jobs created” number and the U-3 unemployment rate, are going to be watched very closely,
Republicans will support an extension of unemployment insurance only if Democrats agree to harm someone else in the process, preferably a minority group. Maybe they could take more food stamps from hungry children, that always makes Republicans smile.
Unfortunately it is no surprise there are many people view those on UE as undeserving, and as people who somehow have no incentive to look for work. UE is a lifeline, and not an overly generous one at that. Many conservatives insist on turning this into a morality play. Are there people who refuse to look for work? Of course there are. Are the majority of people who receive the benefit looking for work? Definitely so.
The bottom Iine is that if we do not fund UE on the front-end we will surely pay for it in many, many other ways.
As I and several other commenters noted in an earlier thread
And this magic only works if you pay for it later. If the Dems agree to a pay for, it needs to be delayed or spread over at least a few years.
As Dr. K noted some time ago, there really are some problems you actually can solve by throwing money at them, and unemployment is one.
@al-Ameda:
I have never understood the Democrats reluctance to play hardball on this game.
Which side would Jesus have been on?
@Tony W:
I agree with you.
These days, Democrats are passive bystanders when compared with Republicans.
Republicans are all for robbing Peter to pay Peter.
@Tony W: I saw a TV ad this morning hitting the GOPs hard on this. I expect we’ll see more soon. Every now and then I see a sign that the Dems are learning how to play this game.
Unemployment insurance has not become permanent. The progressives and Democrats will now push for a guaranteed income for those you have never worked or work for themselves. The biggest fools for the future in anyone who goes into a career field where one has to get up and go to work everyday. Those people will pay high taxes to fund the non-working and will have no higher a standard of living for their efforts.
@superdestroyer:
This is why you should continue to live in your mom’s basement and thus avoid becoming a fool.
@superdestroyer:
In other words, “Taxpayers in Blue States will continue to subsidize the non-working AND the employed in Red States.”
@al-Ameda:
Progressives constant faux complaint about taxes would make more sense if progressives actually supported a flatter tax system. However, with the U.S. moving into a post-industrial economy where most income flows to those involved in value transferance, then the few cities where there are rich are going to pay a large amount of taxes. However, you could tax the top 1% with 100% tax rates and not generate enough money to give everyone a government check. That will only be accomplished by taxing the crap out of everyone who bothers to get up in the morning and goes to work. I suspect that most progressives detest the working middle class and would love for it to fade away and be replaced by third world immigrants.
@C. Clavin: funny, just where does the money come from anyway? we know where it doesn’t come from, but who actually pays for all of this stuff? it’s rhetorical, no need to flap them over this.
@bill: The government can borrow at 1.5% for 30 years to generate 200K jobs. It’s a no brainer.
Forgot the link http://equitablegrowth.org/2014/01/09/1638/department-of-huh-where-is-the-arithmetic-in-robert-rubins-financial-times-piece-weblogging
2010 median net worth: $77K. The median congresscritter is worth around 15x the median non-congresscritter.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/11/news/economy/fed-family-net-worth/
Could be the same article Pinky sourced the 40% net worth drop from another comment thread
@superdestroyer:
Yes well …
ProgressivesRed State conservatives’ constantfauxcomplaint about taxes wouldmake more sensebe less hypocritical and have validity ifprogressivesRed State conservatives actuallysupported a flatter tax systempaid their way and didn’t rely on subsidization by Progressive taxpayers in Blue States..@al-Ameda:
The red state Republicans are net tax payers in their states but still have high ticket items such as large military bases (Texas, Alabama, Florida) while lacking in the industries such as high finance that generate the most taxes in a progressive system.
Since I have never heard a single Democrat talking about creating more investment banking, finance, or software/media companies, there is nothing the Democrats can do to get states like Alabama to pay more federal income taxes.
The constant progressive talking point is just an underhanded reinforcement that progressives really detest the middle class and want to replace them with third world immigrants who will be willing in ever dense coastal cities rather than wanting to live in your own home in the middle of the continent.
@bill: The federal government is the monopoly issuer of the dollar. That’s where your money comes from.
@michael reynolds:
They get paid even when they aren’t there it does not make any sense I think it is time to leave this nasty and hateful world!!!!