Republicans "Balked" At Helping Unemployed In Bailout Bill

ProPublica:

While the bailout bill has been stuffed to the gills with tax breaks, one group not included in the list is nearly 800,000 laid-off U.S. workers. That's how many stand to run out of unemployment aid on Sunday if Congress fails to pass an emergency extension of jobless benefits this week.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Jim Manley, told ProPublica yesterday that Senate Republicans had "balked" at an attempt to attach an unemployment-benefits extension to the Wall Street rescue.

Read the whole story: ProPublica

Comments

[mellene]

There will come a time when they, too, are unemployed. They finally woke up and realized that this bill had to pass if they were to have any future.

[BabsfromKansas]

Why is this not headline news???

[DrVeruju]

The Bush-Paulson bill was three pages of cynical proposals brought in with great urgency late in the session of congress. It laid bare the aims of the kleptocracy. If they were able to frighten the people sufficiently, they might have even got clause 8 approved. Or, at least clause 8 would divert a lot of attention away from the breathtaking audacity of the others.

Now we have the Senate's 481 page bill (who can digest that in 24 hours?) of obfuscation that cynically wraps the same inflationary proposals with sweetners added for the purpose of distraction.

The bill was rejected by the house, not because it failed to address the underlying causes of the crisis, not because it failed to contain any safeguards against further massive losses, not because it rewarded abject failure of the system, not because there are much better ways to deal with the crisis, but because a substantial number of those representatives opposing the bill (with obvious exceptions) know they need to try to rebuild some credibility with the electorate. This group will now be able to vote in favor of a "better" bill that will still support the inflationary, criminalit­y-rewardin­g, middle-cla­ss-bashing antics of the executive.

[GHENT007]

First eliminate the weekly payment system, whatever money paid into the system, should be given to the unemployed person in one lump sum, for example if you paid 15,000 dollars into the program, then when you are laid off you should get that amount in full, this would help to stimulate the economy, create new business's and allow for some people to stay in their homes since they could probably catch up on their house payments with the lump sum payout, also, end the political bullshit surrounding the unemployment process. but this sounds to much like right for the unemployed person, so expect the republican morons to fight the idea but i think its a good start!!!

[PJay1]

Republicans 'balked', Democrats caved.

Why wasn't this added to the bailout bill that passed so handily in the Senate?
And the reason it passed was because the Dems catered to Republicans with all kinds of goodies for THEM.

[obamagal]

This needs to get out there. It needs to hit the wires and go viral.

[obamagal]

The slime!

[tom12010]

Why am I not surprised that this happened??
Uemployed people are not rich enough to be bailed out, I guess.

[lisakaz2]

Of course, they didn't. They're laissez faire types but only for the "undeserving" who lost their jobs because they apparently didn't work hard enough. For their buddies, no amount of corporate handouts is ever enough. On the first part, Charles Dickens could tell ya all about 'em.

[DXM]

Obviously Republicans don't car about the unemployed - just their rich benefactors. It's long past the time we should have a large number of Republican representatives and senators unemployed!

[lisakaz2]

Yet. They need a lesson in humility and in seeing "how the other half lives" Let's fire ;em all!

[Opt1musPr1me]

Because when they hear unemployment they automatically think about minorities, and we all know the GOP is not a minority caring party!!! they are strictly gun nuts, big business, oil, Saudis and war.

[bronceye]

When your unemployment checks run out, you are no longer counted on the unemployed list. Extending benefits would add a large number to the official unemployed rates. The repubes are reluctant for such reality as a number close to the truth could become public.

[VikingQuest]

Well if Harry Reid's guy said it . . . it must be true right?

BTW, I am totally against this congress' actions when it comes to loading up bills with all sorts of garbage . . . how many here knew that last week they added a $25 billion dollars to auto companies in the budget bill?

[jorge4u]

So you saying unemployment benefits are garbage?

[zull2]

The corporate tax earmarks are primarily sweeteners for Republicans, obviously. The main reason being that the only other group that voted against the House bill were progressive Democrats as opposed to the centrists who voted for it. The Republicans that voted against it are mainly running for reelection in their districts and if they can't grandstand on reducing spending, they'll be happy to trade cash for their donors for their votes. They're the ones with the most to lose philosophically if the economy tanks. The progressive Democrats want the economy to tank so they can rebuild it.

[research]

This is the way congress works. If you want something, you have to give something. Since "Pure" bills would only satisfy one side, who could then refuse to vote on balancing bill, the congress put the balancing bills into the amendments.

That's how it's always worked.

[demandfortruth]

i think the 25 bil for the car companies is more proof that laissez-faire doesn't work. if the car companies were smart (gm, i'm talking to you), they wouldn't have abandoned the electric car only to be taken over by toyota. they get what they have coming. republicans, i thought that they could regulate themselves? what happened?

i am sorry to those workers who are going to be laid off due to their ceo's stupidit y. the 25 bil should go to the worker's severance pay...