Jobless ‘99-ers’ Neglected in Obama’s $900 billion Grand Compromise

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.inthesetimes.org/working/entry/6760/jobless_99-ers_whove_lost_benefits_neglected_in_900_billion_grand_comp/

America's corporate-dominated economic and political systems both operate under a curious assumption.

The wealthy must be pampered in order to invest and generate jobs, while workers and the unemployed must be punished to keep them from slacking off.

In the Grand Compromise on tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits struck this week, President Obama was somehow unable to overcome the GOP's hostility to the jobless (despite the fact that, very significantly, "Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Wednesday that Republicans would have allowed a short reauthorization even without the tax cut deal.")

Reflecting the pervasive GOP animus toward unemployment insurance, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) openly stated his groundless criticism of supposed excess generosity to the unemployed. DeMint topped it off by proposing that the jobless pay back government benefits, showing both his cruelty and his rich fantasies about the realities of being jobless for months:

I don't think we need to extend unemployment any further without paying for it, and without making some modifications such as turning it into a loan at some point. It then encourages people to go back to work.


MORE at the link --

[stray cat]

1. So is anyone jobless who isn't eligible for unemployment - but they never got anything

from anyone earlier either

[Hello_Kitty]

4. And most of us are ineligible for welfare. eom

[walldude]

6. I have been looking at the "actual" unemployment numbers

depending on who you trust they run anywhere from 17% to 22%. 1 in 5 Americans out of work.

[madrchsod]

2. also anyone under 20,000 is getting a tax increase!

[emulatorloo]

3. explain that one.

Doesn't make any sense.

Here is a tax calculator where you can try it out yourself under different scenarios:

-- All tax cuts expire
-- Obama/Republican compromise
-- Dem Plan

http://www.mytaxburden.org/

I entered $18,000

All cuts expire - $2652.00

Republican Plan - $2227.00

Obama/Republican Compromise: $1867.00

[Hello_Kitty]

5. Swapping out the Making Work Pay tax credit for the SS tax cut

Means someone making 20K or less will pay more in taxes next year than they did this year. The only group of people who be paying more are the lowest paid workers. And "all cuts expire" is just a strawman put up to make this look better than it is. No one is going to let all the tax cuts expire.