In the effort to extend long-term unemployment benefits suffered a major setback in Washington on Tuesday when two separate proposals were voted down when the Senate’s effort to reach a deal on ruling to revive them collapsed in partisan finger- pointing. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada proposed two democratic measures that would extend benefits for out of work Americans for three months. However, both measures failed due to democrats and republicans accusing each other of lack of honesty.
The democrats proposal failed by 52 to 48 which was aimed to give unemployment benefit for 11 month. The democratic majority wanted to fund this measure by cutting on a 2% on Medicare for one more year, ending 2024. The second proposal , which would have given unemployment benefit for 3month at a cost of $6.4 billion, failed by 55 to 45 .
Republicans were unhappy with Senator Harry Reid for having refused to let them offer amendments to the unemployment bill. Senator Reid did however offered a proposal for each party to introduce five amendments, but the republicans remained unhappy because they would have lost by the traditional voting system.
Lastly, the senators on both sides hoped that their disintegration negotiation was temporary rather than their defeat. While the democrats and republicans sort out their differences, millions of people are left without federal unemployment aid. Also, this setback is causing people to become more angrier at the government, and will lead to more discouraged voters .
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/politics/unemployment-benefits-extension-fails-in-senate.html?ref=economy&_r=0
Unemployment benefits are necessary because they help stabilize aggregate demand and they help out people going through rough times. People however need to have motivation to find another job while unemployed, and I feel that if unemployment benefits are extended to an 11 month period, people will not be as motivated as they should be to find another job. Both political parties in Washington need to find a way to work together to pass a proposal that will grant unemployment benefits to people who need them, so they can still afford to pay rent and put food on the table for their family. Also at the same time, unemployment benefits need to be available for a precise amount of time so that people are motivated to find a new job. If it were up to me, I would propose that people should be granted unemployment benefits for a period of 5 months. I feel that a 5 month unemployment benefit time period will give people enough time to find another job.
ReplyDeleteif unemployment benefits are extended to an 11 month period, people can have the time to find better job which they can fit. The most important things after losing one's job is that he or she finds match job, or else they will lose their job again. Now, economy is not so good. Even if people who are out of work try to find a job hard, it is still difficult to find a job. never expect that they give up finding a job,so I think unemployment person need to more time.
ReplyDeleteUnemployment insurance is necessary to help those without jobs stay afloat while they are looking for one. Extending its benefits gives people the opportunity to find jobs that fit their credentials. It helps people by giving them time to find their “dream” job, instead of them being forced to work for minimum wage at a low skilled job. Although I think it is an important program for the government to support, there needs to be more regulation. There are many people who abuse the system and are not really trying to look for work. It seems that for the program to work, funds from the Medicare program will need to be cut. With this criteria, it is crucial to make sure the government regulates the unemployment program. We do not want to take away benefits from one group of people to support those who do exploit it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jonel. Unemployment insurance benefits does give an individual the opportunity to find their "dream job" rather than taking up a low wage job. However, the insurance system should be a lot more regulated. It is designed to reduce the hardship of being unemployed, however it also reduces the incentive for the unemployed to find work. By extending the duration of unemployment benefits, it will extend the length of time individuals are unemployed. They may be searching for the dream job or abusing the system.
DeleteIt is important to increase investment in unemployment benefits currently as we are still recovering from the effects of the last recession. However, it might be more important to divert some of the money towards unemployment benefits towards training people to have better job skills. I understand that the current administration is focusing on that, but diverting more funds towards that would be a better economic policy than increasing money for unemployment benefits. It is better to give people the opportunity to become more independent, and in the coming decades, it will be increasingly important that our citizens have more high level skills for a more competitive job market. According to a recent Oxford study, 47% of jobs in America are threatened by the increase in technology and more advanced computers that can replace our jobs. Therefore, we should currently be investing more in higher level job training skills than unemployment benefits. Doing so would help ensure that Americans in the future have higher incomes if they have higher paying skills for more safe jobs in the future.
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