Unemployment End Game : Dependency On Others

Extending unemployment compensation by this administration isn't about giving workers more time to find jobs in this bad economy, it's about building dependency, it's about building a large base of people that believe they can't find work that equals their skills. The longer they are idle, the harder it is to except the idea that maybe they are not as skilled as they thought, making the unemployed sink further into self protected fantasies about their future ability to find meaningful work.

The end game is to seek others at the labor temple or unemployment line, that are wondering in the same make-believe job market that is set against them by large corporations that demand skills that are unrealistic, designed to crush the worker, the average guy just trying to feed his family.

Where to turn now is to the government that promises everything but can't deliver anything except more checks. This government is all to willing to make sure that the idle stay idle and vote for those that make promises of a bright future for everyone, all you have to do is just hang on for a little longer.

Dependency will become a way of life.

But as the saying goes, 'when other peoples money runs out', the long term unemployed will find the empty mail box catastrophic.

Extended Unemployment Benefits Present Policy Concerns
Source: James Sherk, "Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits," Heritage Foundation,

States provide unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to involuntarily unemployed workers. UI benefits typically replace 35 percent to 40 percent of a worker's weekly income. Normally, states provide UI benefits for up to 26 weeks. Workers in states with high unemployment rates may collect extended benefits for an additional 13 weeks for a total of 39 weeks. The federal government and the states normally split the cost of these extended benefits.

Congress has modified the UI program so that workers in states with high unemployment now qualify for a maximum of 99 weeks of UI benefits -- almost two years, says James Sherk, a senior policy analyst in labor economics at the Heritage Foundation.
There are however policy concerns, says Sherk.

Higher unemployment: By reducing the need to look for new work, extended UI benefits cause some unemployed workers to take longer to find new work.

Longer unemployment: The consequences of extended unemployment benefits are some of the most conclusively established results in labor economic research. Extending either the amount or the duration of UI benefits increases the length of time that workers remain unemployed.

Reduces other income: Families respond to unemployment benefits by reducing other income. Wives' earnings fall by between 36 cents and 73 cents for each dollar of UI benefits married men receive.
February 22, 2011.