Today, Congress sets a new record; in the last 40 years, it has never allowed extended unemployment benefits to expire when the unemployment rate was above 7.2 percent. But today, in an economy that faces a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, Congress will let the benefits expire and force 2.5 million Americans to lose their benefits in the midst of the holiday season.
What will the reaction be to this as people check in with their unemployment offices? Some say there will be riots. There will certainly be an economic dip as a result and more jobs lost.
The GOP's determination to obstruct any unemployment extension will drastically impact the state of the economy. Of the 2.5 million Americans whose benefits expire today, 1.2 million will exhaust their 26 weeks of regular benefits without finding work, and 800,000 will lose their benefits immediately. ...Economists estimate that the economy grows by nearly two dollars for every dollar spent on unemployment benefits "because recipients typically spend all of their benefit payments quickly," particularly at small- and medium-sized businesses. The money "ripples through the economy into supermarkets, gasoline stations, utilities, convenience stores." One Philadelphia grocer worried that, with a "good portion" of his customers losing benefits, he will be forced to "cut back on [his] labor force..." ...Progress Report
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