Renee Ellmers On 1 Percent: 'Let's Increase It To 2 Percent Versus 98'

WASHINGTON -- With the House of Representatives set to vote on a Republican jobs bill Tuesday, a freshman Republican congresswoman, riffing on Occupy Wall Street's "We are the 99 percent" slogan, said the measure would be a step toward reducing income inequality. A small step.

"Let's stop talking about 1 percent versus 99 percent," Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) said during a press conference. "Let's increase it to 2 percent versus 98. And let's keep going from there."

Among its many provisions, the Republican bill would preserve an expiring payroll tax cut that put $1,000, on average, in the pockets of 120 million working families this year. But House Republicans attached a measure calling on the president to speed construction of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, saying the project would create jobs. The White House has threatened to veto the entire bill.

Ellmers highlighted the legislation's unemployment insurance reforms, saying they would be a step in the right direction. The measure would reauthorize federal unemployment insurance while cutting the maximum duration of federal benefits by 40 weeks, bringing it from 73 to 33 weeks. During recessions, federal unemployment kicks in for workers who use up their state benefits, which in most cases last for 26 weeks.

Ellmers said the current maximum of 99 weeks of combined state and federal benefits causes hiring trouble for companies in her North Carolina district.

"Back in my district, the 99 weeks of unemployment has been a huge issue for my small business owners," Ellmers said. "They have jobs right now that they could be filling and yet they're not because people are living out that time and now they're dropping off. That's why we see an unemployment rate now down to 8.6 percent. Not because thousands of jobs are being created, but because people are simply not looking for jobs anymore."

Part of the recent decline in the unemployment rate was indeed caused by more than 300,000 people dropping out of the workforce in November, but not because they had unemployment insurance. Federal law requires workers receiving benefits to continue looking for work and therefore remain part of the workforce. A recent study found that the 99 weeks of benefits slightly increased the jobless rate because it kept folks looking.

"What a better way for us to increase that 1 percent to 2 percent, if we all come together, not as Republicans against Democrats, but as all Americans, working together with the Senate, working together with the president," Ellmers said.

As for the richest 2 percent, Democrats have supported increasing their taxes by allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire for people with incomes above $250,000, which the White House said would raise $866 billion over 10 years.

 

 

Comments

[plexisaldome]

04:52 PM on 12/19/2011

Would that be a full percentage point of nouveau riche added or like so many other " facts and figures" strewn about this place are their origins somewhat dubious ? For example are the " 1%" really that or are they perhaps the " 0.00001%" when insundry secret accounts and offshore holdings are factored in , which it seems they never are hence the beauty of alluded to cayman island empires? So the nouveau 1 % ers may very well find themselves on the same one way cattle train bound for palookaville as the rest of the 99.9999% of us ? The only difference being these latest dupes will be treated to caviar (made from tuna fish eggs ) and champagne ( genetically modified Boones farm substitute) before they are ceremoniously chucked into the train car disguised as a Porsche dealership

[Mikesfreedomblog]

07:32 AM on 12/18/2011

Why don't we have all the Legislators give up thier health Insurance Packages, and their retirement packages, and make them work for minimum wage for the first year, then give them a .25 raise, we should also make them work 10 hour days, and force them to use the same transportation we use, instead of gov.jets, and we should also make drug testing mandatory for them!

[CBsez]

09:11 AM on 12/16/2011

Every member of Congress should have to go spend at the very least a month with a working poor family or a family on unemployment. They don't seem to have any idea of what they are talking about - maybe if they lived it they would understand it.

[l78lancer]

01:06 AM on 12/15/2011

""Back in my district, the 99 weeks of unemployment has been a huge issue for my small business owners," Ellmers said. "They have jobs right now that they could be filling and yet they're not because people are living out that time and now they're dropping off. That's why we see an unemployment rate now down to 8.6 percent. Not because thousands of jobs are being created, but because people are simply not looking for jobs anymore.""
--------------------------------------------------->

What a stupid and uninformed statement. She obviously doesn't know the first thing about unemployment, despite the fact that this is a clearly politically motivated statement.

[sf1000000]

09:33 AM on 12/16/2011

Well I know how to educate her on unemployment...KICK HER BONY ASS OUT OF OFFICE then she can have a 1st hand experience with unemployment !!
F&F

[l78lancer]

04:11 PM on 12/18/2011

LOL! One of my favorite sayings is, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want." Based on your comment she would get plenty of experience and education when she doesn't get to keep her job.

[Independentproud]

12:36 PM on 12/14/2011

Actually it's 53% vs 47%.

It is the 53% who pay federal income taxes against the 47% that don't.

[CSDofNM]

12:19 AM on 12/15/2011

That is just a flat out Fox News Lie.

It comes from misreading a Money Magazine article:
"45% don't owe U.S. income tax"
http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/14/pf/taxes/who_pays_income_taxes/index.htm

"More than two-thirds -- or 49 million of the 69 million households -- pay payroll tax. Of those, 34 million end up paying more in payroll taxes than they get back on their federal return."

2/3rd's PAY taxes. 1/2 don't OWE any more taxes come April 15th.

Please stop repeating the lie. You aren't supposed to be that big a fan of Goebbels.

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
-- Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945

[Independentproud]

08:09 AM on 12/15/2011

Thank you for correcting me. I said 47% don't pay income tax, your article states 45% dont' pay, or don't "owe" federal income tax.

Respectfully, you confuse income tax with payroll tax. They are two different taxes. If you will read your referenced article again, it will explain the difference and you will see that I did not lie (except for the 47% which was derived from other references).

It is rather curious that you are the one who is spreading the misinformation and are such a fan of Goebbels that you can quote him....

[sf1000000]

09:35 AM on 12/16/2011

Thank YOU F&F...Fox is banned in my home EXCEPT on Tue night for 1 hr of GLEE..that is it..

[CaptainRenault]

04:55 PM on 12/15/2011

Liar.

^ ^

[Eris23Skidoo]

08:07 AM on 12/14/2011

Pass the payroll tax cut using reconciliation.

[simplecitizen]

05:50 AM on 12/14/2011

Rep. Elmers should take time out of her busy day and go home and talk to those business owners that are trying to hire people in her district but are just not having any success. Is there no end to the Republicans fairy tales we are forced to endure. Just another embarrassment for the Republicans who can't seem to avoid foot in mouth disease.

[fwwest]

05:27 AM on 12/14/2011

What? This is going to help, how?

[PollyTics]

04:47 AM on 12/14/2011

Renee Ellmers just doesn't get it, but at least she is one of the few GOPer's that would even utter the words "working with the President".

That said, she makes no mention of the fastest and best ways of getting this solved which would mean taxing those making over 1 million a year. I was watching a movie the other day and it mentioned that not too long ago, the wealthiest were being taxed 90%...not the piddling amount of today's rate. This and letting the Bush Tax cuts expire coupled with at least one of our wars ending would help ALL of us enormously.

[Lou Allin]

05:54 PM on 12/14/2011

Yes, the rich are chuckling away at the last fifty years and what they've pulled off taxwise on the other 99%. It's been a slow bloodletting while they've drained the country dry.

[Josh Crawford]

04:29 AM on 12/14/2011

“So, let me get this staight: Congresswo­man Ellmers' "rationale­" for supporting cutting benefits to the unemployed is that there are employers out there ready, willing, and able to hire, but who can't find workers because collecting unemployme­nt benefits is easier/mor­e attractive to too many of the unemployed­, right? See, that's weird, because according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics­, there are FOUR people out there looking for every ONE job. Between the states and the federal government­, around 6 million Americans are receiving unemployme­nt benefits. So let's assume that EVERY ONE of them has decided that they'd rather keep getting the unemployme­nt benefits than get a job (and let's assume there is a job out there "waiting" for each of them). Here's the problem with the Congresswo­mans' "theory": in addition to those receiving unemployme­nt benefits, there are 8-10 million unemployed people out there who want jobs that AREN'T GETTING UNEMPLOYME­NT BENEFITS. That's MORE THAN ENOUGH to fill EVERY job the 6 million "free loaders" have rejected in favor of continuing to collect unemployme­nt benefits. So, you see, Ellmers' "theory" is TOTAL BS.”

[beebster]

09:59 AM on 12/14/2011

Thanks, fanned!

[laser focused]

11:03 PM on 12/14/2011

those people that took the 2 years free money have basically made themselves unemployable. they were warned that milking the free money would have consequences. the business and hiring community are onto these slackers and some of them will be lucky if they ever see an interview let alone a job.

[Josh Crawford]

03:24 AM on 12/15/2011

Have some people "milked the money" here? Sure. Some. But the VAST majority of people getting unemployment benefits truly and honestly would rather work. But that's kind of hard when there are four people looking for work for EVERY job opening. It doesn't matter if you're a "slacker" or a great worker if there just aren't any jobs. What part of FOUR PEOPLE FOR EVERY JOB don't you get?!??!

[JJBUFF]

01:03 AM on 12/17/2011

I don't know if it is the same in every State,but where I live Money is taken from your Paychecks to pay into Unemployment Insurance. The more you put in the more you can draw if you need it. I would not say it is Free Money. I put into the System for 25 years before I ever drew a Dime. Even then it was not nearly as much as my Paychecks were. It took me over a Year to find Work,it was not easy. If there are Jobs that stay unfilled,I haven't heard of them. I consider myself very Fortunate to have found Full Time Work. Unemployment Checks kept me from losing my House and Car and helped me back into the Game. I will pay much more back into it then I will ever take out. You may be right about some people,but most like myself would much rather work.

[Jim Pasterczyk]

04:13 AM on 12/14/2011

Actually, it's more like the 0.01 percent vs. the rest.

[Joe Bigg]

03:59 AM on 12/14/2011

Come on, this would be a story if a Republican talked about getting people back to work.

Their plan is to get more of the people's wealth into the hands of the mega wealthy.

Republicans do not care about the Middle Class.

Republicans do not have a plan and will block any plan that bring our nation out of this hole.

[jkenn21357]

03:48 AM on 12/14/2011

The OWS movement is not the 99% versus the 1%,

It is the people sitting in the wagon railing against those pulling the wagon.

[TheHandyman]

03:58 AM on 12/14/2011

Newt? Romney? Bachmann? Is that you. You people keep telling this lie but outside of your belief there isn't a shred of proof of it!

[kbeth]

04:52 AM on 12/14/2011

Sure they have proof- they heard it on FOX, that's good enough for them. Saves them from having to clutter up their minds with facts.

[Jim Pasterczyk]

04:14 AM on 12/14/2011

You seem to be a well-indoctrinated tea bagger.

[laser focused]

11:05 PM on 12/14/2011

they're called the tea party, you got that bagg(ie)

[MountPanic]

03:43 AM on 12/14/2011

Actually it's 99.9% vs. 0.1%

[Jackal 99]

03:34 AM on 12/14/2011

$866 billion over ten years? That's chicken feed. We need to let all the Bush era tax cuts expire for everyone. After all, they only helped the 1%. The republicans were only helping their wealthy buddies, so they are the ones that will pay when all the tax cuts are allowed to expire.

[TheHandyman]

03:59 AM on 12/14/2011

And since they themselves fall into that same tax bracket it means they are paying less taxes too and not just the GOTPers but the Dims as well!

[Jackal 99]

04:09 AM on 12/14/2011

Sssshhh! You are going to confuse them. Can't conduct class warfare effectively when you find yourself in the same class as everyone else.