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Subscribe to RSSUpdated Friday Dec. 7, 8:45am ET Democratic senators said Thursday that the economy is still weak enough that it needs more federal stimulus spending as part of any year-ending fiscal deal with Republicans.
Senate Democratic Policy Committee chairman Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters, “I believe you need a stimulus. It could be a payroll tax (cut), it could be something else, but you need some kind of ‘oomph’ to the economy in this first year, particularly now that the statistics show it’s moving slowly.”
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that non-farm payroll employment increased by 146,000 in November, while the unemployment rate went from 7.9 percent in October to 7.7 percent last month.
"The number of unemployed persons, at 12.0 million, changed little," the BLS report said. The number of long-term unemployed, those Americans who were jobless for 27 weeks or more, was little changed at 4.8 million in November.
And the number of people in the labor force -- either working or actively looking for work -- dropped by 350,000.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., right, accompanied by fellow Senate Democrats, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, to discuss efforts to "boost the economy and prevent Americans from abruptly losing their jobless benefits at the end of the year."
Schumer and other Democrats said at a Capitol press conference Thursday that an extension of emergency unemployment insurance benefits must be part of any year-ending "fiscal cliff" deal.
The Democratic senators cited the need to spur a sluggish economy, which had a 7.9 percent jobless rate in October. An extended unemployment benefit “produces a major economic stimulus,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. His state has a 10.4 percent unemployment rate.
“We’re all talking about a stimulus. How do we get the economy moving? This is the best stimulus there is,” Schumer said.
He and other Democrats gave a textbook Keynesian argument for continued unemployment payments to those who might otherwise lose them at year end. People who get unemployment checks “are going to the local stores, they are increasing demand,” Reed said.
The Democrats said the heated, weeks-long debate on the fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases seemed somewhat unreal and theoretical to some of their hard-pressed constituents.
While congressional leaders wrangle over the fiscal cliff, “two million Americans are now looking over a real cliff,” Reed said.
President Barack Obama headed to Virginia where he reminded the public that if the fiscal cliff isn't averted, taxes will increase on 98 percent of Americans next year. The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd reports.
Schumer said, “Many of the elements of the ‘fiscal cliff’ are abstract concepts to struggling middle-class families, (but) unemployment benefits are not abstract.”
“If there is an agreement on the fiscal cliff, unemployment insurance must be included,” Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said. And “if there’s not an agreement reached, we must extend unemployment separately.”
He added, “We must not leave here for the holidays until we extend unemployment insurance.”
Asked how this call for more stimulus spending was consistent with the idea of reducing budget deficits and the growing burden of federal debt, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said, “Not all spending is created equal.”
Asked the same question later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cited a story he’d heard Thursday morning on National Public Radio which said the European Union was “concerned about all their austerity,” that is, the reduction in European governments’ spending at a time of persistently high unemployment.
In the tense negotiations back-and-forth between President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans, the chances of cliff-diving appear to be less likely, but there's still no hard deal on the table yet. Former communications director for the Blue Dog Democrats Kristen Hawn and David Winston, a veteran Republican pollster, discuss.
Reid argued that fiscal restraint and short-term stimulus aren’t mutually exclusive: “You can do both…. There are many, many things you can do to reduce debt, but still have (a) simulative aspect.”
According to the Congressional Budget Office, unemployment insurance benefits totaled $94 billion in fiscal year 2012, a substantial increase over the $33 billion paid out in fiscal year 2007 before the economy toppled into the recession. The total cost of jobless benefits over the past five years has been $520 billion.
The CBO said fully extending the current Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and temporary provisions of the Extended Benefit program for one year would cost $30 billion.
Democratic senators said they want the money spent on unemployment to not be offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. “An offset, I think, is unnecessary and its bad economics,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
At times the Democrats' portrayal of the economy Thursday sounded like the gloomy picture painted by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats said, “Sometimes, maybe especially here inside the Beltway, we forget that this terrible, terrible recession continues in many, many parts of the country. While official unemployment is 7.9 percent real unemployment – counting those people who have given up looking for work and those people who are working 20 hours and they want to be working 40 hours – is closer to 15 percent.”
Harkin told reporters after the press conference, “I don’t see us getting out of this high unemployment picture for some time. I think it’s going to be a gradual reduction.”
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Astounding that so very many people can buy into the keynesian idiocy that borrowing money and handing it out as a reward for not working would boost an economy.
One of my wife's relatives was fired from Wal-Mart for chronic lateness two years ago, and ,to this day, she is rewarded with a "unemployment" paycheck drafted off a debt my grandchildren will be obligated to pay. She simply logs onto a state web-site once a week, and clicks "yes" to the question "are you currently actively seeking employment?". There are multiple restaurants in her area hiring, but she is tickled that she does not have to bother. She rewarded her benefactors by voting straight Democrat.
My state, North Carolina, has the fifth highest debt to the federal government for loans to maintain this vote-buying scheme. Does the state assembly try to curtail this travesty? Oh no, let's not stop the abuse. They are instead punishing the producers by increasing the unemployment insurance premiums, making an already bad business climate worse.
Taxes are at historic lows.
Why haven't these "producers" produced already?
Your logic fails.
Well, there are taxes and there are those hidden taxes. I was watching CNBC yesterday and they had the CEO of Starbucks on. There is over $2 trillion dollars of US money parked overseas and the owners of that money are just waiting to see what Obama and Congress are going to do on corporate taxes, income taxes, regulations, and health care costs. If he wants to keep his "tax the rich" philosophy and keep writing regulations and supporting sky high union wages, then none of that money is coming back. We just moved one of our manufacturing operations to Texas to lower our production costs (union wages and work rules were killing us). Next step is out of the country. Obama's call.
Tax revenues as a percentage of GDP since WWII were 2nd highest under Bush (Reagan's were the highest) and Eisenhower 3rd.
Producers are creating jobs because Obama never stops threatening to increase taxes.
They have. And the leach class taketh away.
A ridiculous lie.
Only from the point of view of an idiot.
Naturally, FOX zombies have been told to believe that "stimulus bad".
But real economists know that stimulus is exactly what this economy needs.
Same ole' democrats! All they seem to know is how to spend our money. No stimulus is needed. What we need is to significantly cut federal spending. The previous stimulus packages have proven to not help the economy at all. Why do they believe another one will help?
GDP went from -9% before the first stimulus to +3% after the stimulus.
For all you Republicans out there: Negative 9 bad. Positive 3 good.
Harbringer....cant double count Government spending in the GDP. If you take out Government spending, GDP was about 1%. Nice try.
and what is that GDP now? oops.. You cite one freakin quarter as a basis for your model? Hilarious your facts are as phony as the president. So in the long-run you feel obama's plan to add two trillion in debt each year will help our economy? Oh please tell us wise oracle, what do you base that insanity on?
Chris...don't confuse the issue with facts. These left wing nuts are not interested in reality...they just want their stuff!!
Let me explain it so you FOX zombies can understand.
Before stimulus, GDP go way down.
After stimulus GDP go way up.
Prove me wrong, children. Prove me wrong...
Far Left Filth like Harbinger have nothing left but patting themselves on the back because the 2008 recession eventually ended like all recessions do.
Great job. Thanks for the massive debt year after year with no end in sight and the constant, crap unemployment picture.
Your handout policies are working well. Nice government "investment".
Chesty - I think you are eating too much red meat. Try fish and vegetables for 30 days with no red meat. The increased blood flow to your brain will help you understand what Harbinger is talking about.
harbinger
how do you claim the stimulas worked it's borrowed money. how will we pay it back? sounds like the only money to be had is the gov. money and none to be had. when the only jobs are gov. jobs that is socialism no matter how you look at it. when you put borrowed money into the economy it has to be repaid with interest so in the long run how did it help? why I graduated from the sixth grade and I can see whats happening lol
Harbinger-2218646: Check your grammar, "…to do badly needed…" Better said would be "…to do much needed…". Point of information, the word badly answers how we perform.
Harbinger was trying to use grammar that you could understand Bubba. Like when parents try to communicate with their 2 year old kid.
My grammar was the only thing Bubba could disagree with.
Don't leave me hanging Bubba, correct it again!
Dear Government,
STOP spending our money - you are bankrupting us.
Department of Labor Implementation Errors in the EUC08 Program are Robbing the Unemployed out of Recovery Aid (Fiscal Cliff or Not):
State and Federal Officials are committing Recovery Act Fraud in order to cover up their historic federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) Program Implementation Errors. They have refused to set a precedent for an appeal victory that prevailed against their "Multiple EUC Claims" and "applicable benefit year" mistakes (always pay the older initial year until its runs out of funds). Their mistake was refuted in a court of law but they won't investigate any further nor apply it to the millions of other victims who suffered from the same error that violates federal laws and regulations. "Oversight" does not seem to matter, when the investigation is point at our own government...
Starting in January of 2011, the State of California began paying me EUC08 benefits improperly based on the federal government historic implementation errors ("UIPLs" issued to all state against nationwide to implement recovery act funds). Instead of paying me federal EUC08 funds based on the higher paying most recent benefit year, they made their illegal determination to pay me a lesser claims remaining balance from a terminated and older benefit year, based on implementation errors that the federal Department of Labor's Robert Wagner, the Chief of Special Benefits is responsible for. He advised Jane Oates of the Employment & Training Administration and Suzzane Simonetta, the Chief of Legislature for the Department of Labor, to publish his mistaken interpretation of federal law and regulations for federal-state extended benefits (20 CFR 615) starting in UIPL 23-08 change 1 on August 15,2008.
Millions of claimants, like myself, were paid EUC08 benefits based on older and terminated benefit years instead of the current ones. This violates federal regulations. This contradicts the previous 1990s implementation of the same EUC program based on the 1970 Extended Benefit Act and the federal regulations that Robert Wagner screwed up at Title 20 Chapter V Part 615. This has wasted billions of dollars in ARRA emergency designated funds.
I used this evidence to challenge these federal mistakes at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (see details in the link below). CUIAB Case A0-265448, directly took on Robert Wagner's historic federal implementation disaster and on 10/20/11 it prevailed. My evidence REFUTED THE FEDERAL POLICY MISTAKE and $2786 in denied funds were restored to me.
My appeal victory SHOULD have helped millions who were victims of the exact same federal errors (the "Multiple EUC Claims" has denied billions of dollars). INSTEAD, the state and federal government have paid me, but tried to keep this scandal quiet. They illegally ignored my precedent request for the case. They violated the law and ignored federal oversight requirements under multiple laws.
But, They were caught, this last July, and exposed thanks to the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act and the incriminating documents I was able to obtain about their activities this last year+. They still refuse to investigate themselves. They cannot nor will not even try to refute my evidence. They have not even tried to take my case back to court. This abuse of authority must be stopped.
All the details can be reviewed at the links below:
Scans of Evidence:
(all the libraries)
(the 1-26 scans with highlights and more comments all the way through)
One sure way to stimulate the economy while cutting the deficit is to eliminate all of the three letter agencies which run up the cost of doing business.
The first stimulus prevented a real depression.
Stop watching FOX, and get on America's team for a change.
Oh please, we haven't even paid for it yet. We just put it on the credit card.
Every country has their right wing crazies. We just seem to have more of them. Heavy concentration in the deep south. Maybe some drone strikes would help.
The first stimulus prevented a real depression.
How? Where was the money spent? You can't even cite one silly example except Solyndra, Abba123 and another failed solar company. Of course you won't cite those because that would be acknowledging failure.
Do you even know what a depression is?
It was a Stimulus Bill it was a "Funds for Friends" Bill.
Navyvet98 - you can find exactly how the stimulus money was spent on the Internet. wikipedia.org has a really good and complete breakdown.
Also, you can get some real information from the CBO web site on jobs created etc.
Time for you to give up on Fox and get some real information. Or maybe not.
BTW - it's called the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"
This might help if you know how to use the search engines. If not, I'm sure there are some kids in your neighborhood who can teach you.
This is because the major networks have economists who know that McConnell's plan is smoke and mirrors.
And this just in...
Republicans in both the House and Senate block every single bill to help the economy for four years!
Turn off FOX, and re-enter reality.
You do know that Reid was offered to vote on Obama's plan.
Reid is the one who refuses to offer up a budget proposal for a vote. Look it up.
The last half decade we have absolutely nothing to show from our policies, except greater division in Washington and around the Country. If we DID fall off this "Fiscal Cliff", it might somehow push a reset button of the priorities of America. Things need to get bad enough, for Washington to change, for people to change. We've strayed so far from the principals and moral compass this Nation was founded on, it's destroying us from the inside. The rest of the World isn't going to come to our rescue, they're exploiting our weakness.
I think we can come to the conclusion that republicans and democrats can not communicate. Congress would a good example of this. I think I know why. As DNA testing becomes more sophisticated, they will find that democrats and republicans are a slightly different species. Like they did with chimpanzees and bonobos. Chimpanzees are violent, unpredictable and the males totally dominate the females – like republicans. Bonobos are calm, civilized and the males and females are more equal – like democrats. While they can cross breed, you can not put chimpanzees and bonobos together as they will fight. Just like democrats and republicans.
by bonobos do you really mean obamanoes
The party of "give it all away" is at it again. We're supposed to cut spending - not spend more.
the Dems think we all have money trees in our back yard. Sky is the limit don't ya know.
we are going over the cliff folks. They want to stick the last fork in the Republican party. Get ready for all your taxes to go up. Isn't DC grand. Oh, by the the way, your Prez is leading the charge! Over we go YEAAAAAAH!
I've got three empty houses on my block due to unemployment and foreclosure,these family's lost there home through no fault of there own.If the goverment can give tax breaks to big corporations they can extend emergency unemployment benefits.I think the republicans are heartless and will do anything to block the extension,it's right up there alley to throw people out in the street.
extend it to what, infinity? When does it end? You have to take matters into your own hands and get off the programs. Get 2 jobs if you have to.
Unemployment insurance does nothing to help the super rich. Republicans don't want to get in trouble with big money donors, Grover Norquist and the tea party.
Unemployment benefits go straight back into the economy. Tax cuts for the rich goes into off shore banks. Try explaining that to the right wing crazies.
Jim-Last time I looked, a couple making $250k weren't "rich". You act like everyone's a millionaire and you're the poor schmuck who got them there. Don't pat yourself on the back, successful people got there because they were willing to work hard for it. Most of the people who are going to be hit from Obama's tax increase make far less than a million dollars and most own small businesses so the real losers are the employees of these small companies.
Jim, it's going to be 5 years now, once these policies go into effect for 2013. Your stupid handout policies don't work. You've been "stimulating" the unemployed with freebies for 4 years and counting.
Sparks from South Bend....I feel sympathy when anyone goes through hardship but I would like to know how the three families lost their home due to no fault of their own....
What did cause them to lose their home? Lost job? Overpaid for a home that lost value?
The housing crisis was rooted in Democratic actions going back to Clinton and even Carter...
Banks were forced to provide mortgages to people who had no money down and no real ability to pay it back because the sellers immediately inflated home values (because they knew there was no cash down necessary) that once those buyers could not pay created the "poison" mortgages that were sold to Wall Street by Fannie and Freddie.
If those three families were in that mix, I would offer that they did bear responsibility because they chose to enter into an agreement that went way beyond their means.
IF YOU THINK that we are going to give this teenager-with-a-credit-card UNLIMITED access to raising this country's debt limit, you are out yo' mind.....
He can't even pull the trigger on immediate spending cuts; this guy is about as responsible with the economy as Charles Manson is with his thoughts; I cannot believe that the Republicans will allow that to happen....
OMG, this would be catastrophic
It would help you to learn what the debt limit is and what has been proposed. Like how it would work.
Or, maybe not.
JIMMY: Don't you read ?...he wants UNLIMITED access to the national debt ceiling. OMG, this is too funny, what part don't you understand ?
I understand that the senate can block it with a 2/3 vote. What part of that do you not understand? Also, the debt limit is increased to cover money that has already been spent by congress. What part of that do you not understand? It is not unlimited power! What part of that do you not understand?
But it's OK. I've been reading your uninformed statements here for months. I'm sure you are doing the best you can with what you have to work with.
When are these idiots in Washington going to realize "the government doesn't stimulate the economy". This amounts to more handouts and more waste of our tax dollars. There are millions of people out of work but also millions of jobs available, the problem is that the government has made it easier to live off of them than to go get a job, even if it's not the "ideal" job. Why work for $12 bucks an hour when the government will give you that in welfare.
More Debt-Financed "Stimulus" on top of our Trillion Dollar Deficits---These People are Vermin.
So, not only are they going to do nothing but raise taxes on the rich for $80B, but they're going to spend the money from that, so there's no overall reduction.
Who votes for these mindless Big Government freaks? Is it some kind of disease you have to have?
A new year newmp tax rates,,haha hehe hoho
Next up,the debt clock tic tak,tic tak
More of the same just the name ,it's all,a game
Just give this clown everything, we are going down HARD anyway
We are on the way up,,to the top people...
The GOP have deep issues,and need to re tool the tools,,
It's really time clean the house and senate of all these people
Nothing like going off the cliff,,
I'm renaming the Democratic Party to the Robin Hood Party because of obvious reasons. And any additional extensions on unemployment just continues to keep people from looking for jobs. Why look when you know free money is coming with you never having to lift a finger. There ARE jobs out there - they may not be the ones you want permanently, but they ARE something to get cash while you ARE looking for permanent work instead of getting free handouts.