Economic Stimulus Bill Leaves Millions Out in the Cold

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/08/economic-stimulus-bill-leaves-millions-out-in-the-cold/

by Mike Hall, Feb 8, 2008

The economic stimulus package approved last night by the U.S. House of Representatives—leaves the jobless “pretty much on their own,” says AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

Workers who have been laid off because of the slowing economy will not get an extension of unemployment benefits. Families who can’t pay the skyrocketing costs of fuel will be left literally in the cold. The very people who need help the most will get what they have routinely gotten from this administration and its right-wing Republican supporters: a whole lot of nothing.

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans filibustered a version of the stimulus package that included an extension of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to jobless workers who exhaust their benefits—some 200,000 workers a month run out of UI before finding a job. That bill also contained home heating assistance for low-income families. Yesterday, Senate Democrats gave up on their bid to include the jobless benefits and heating assistance.

After extending tax rebates to low-income seniors and disabled veterans, the Senate approved the House-passed version of the bill. The expansion of tax rebates to seniors and veterans in the bill meant the House needed to vote again and it approved the bill a few hours later. President Bush, who had hinted at a veto if the package contained extended jobless benefits, says he will sign this version.


FULL story at link.

I have a couple of friends who are not seniors or veterans, but are disabled and collect Social Security Disability. Do you know if they are going to get checks as well?

A bitter daught the 'pukes will be quaffing come November. Beating up on the poor just doesn't have the same cachet for them as it once did.

Jesus Christ, send it to him sit on it, and let the goddamned idiot veto the son of a bitch!

the democrats and republicans are fucking worthless...

but twice for this President. If any of you, that are unemployed, that voted this way are reading this right now, I hope that you're kicking your behinds at this moment. :eyes: :wtf:

got into a bit of tussle with my dad this morning

I know better than to bring up any subject that could even remotely lead to a political issue, even the talking about the weather ends up being a debate about global warming.

he call this morning to ask me to send him some links to the company that runs my 401k plan.. then he brought up the "stimulus plan"

should have kept my mouth shut, but I didn't

I pointed out that it was a big bait/switch scam, it's an advance on next years tax refund, not enough money going to the people who will spend it immediately, and too much money going to the top-hatters... you know the drill

he's still living in the trickle-down world.. insisted if we didn't give money/tax breaks to top-hatters/corporations they wouldn't create jobs

me: guess what Dad - if we don't give money/tax breaks to corporations they move jobs overseas, and when we do give money/tax breaks to corporations they still move jobs overseas. Furthermore, if the little people - who buy the products/services that corporations produce - don't have money - the little people WON'T be buying doodly-squat from anyone.

and assuming people will spend the "tax loan" checks - they'll be spending at places who get their inventory from China or elsewhere, so the money isn't even going to stay here to "jump-start" our economy - it's going fuel another country's economy. We can't be chasing our economy with a defribrulator, zapping it everytime it skips a beat when what's really needed is a pacemaker or heart transplant.

the only thing this stupid stimulus bandaid plan may do is delay a total economic breakdown long enough for freaking bush to skeddadle back to crawford, leaving the republicans free to blame it all on the democrats.

dad went into oxy-rush dittohead mode... I let him blather on... he's of german ancestry...you know what they say about germans...
"you can always tell a german...you just can't tell him much"

but there is a ray of hope - dad doesn't like any of the repub candidates, nary a one. didn't participate in Minnesota caucuses, and had no intention of voting in November