It’s one of those worst-case nightmare scenarios that every worker from Maine to Hawaii has been experiencing for more than two years now, with one out of five Americans unable to find work in Barack Obama’s wonderland and unemployment benefits about to end for two million unemployed by Saturday.
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Once again Congress has descended into partisan bickering, as Congressional DeMarxists attempt to add more spending to existent legislation and Republicans insisting that any additional jobless benefits be paid for by reductions in debt. It’s the classic Democrat-Republican impasse, with the American people trapped in between.
Republicans are correct in doing everything possible to reduce the DeMarxist money juggernaut which is threatening to impoverish the country for decades to come. However, the active principle should be the welfare of the people who have seen their jobs lost, due to the suicidally unwise monetary policies set in place by both Democrats and Republicans.
It cracks me up when I hear hear sage ‘economists’ pontificating that Americans are using unemployment as an ‘excuse’ for not finding jobs. Having spoken to many people over the last two years who have found themselves in the position of having lost their jobs, I can assure you that few, if any, were using unemployment as some sort of paid vacation. With rare exception, unemployment doesn’t pay enough to live or support a family on… much less make mortgage payments. The continuing waves of foreclosures are mute testimony to this.
Any Conservative will tell you that the very idea of dependence on government is repugnant indeed. But these are not normal times… with the actual unemployment figures much closer to seventeen per cent, as opposed to the meek 9.6% the government claims it to be. Job losses are much closer to great depression levels than in any recession we’ve had.
Congress should set aside their differences on this.
Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis
© Skip MacLure 2010
