Unemployment Benefits To Lapse For One Week

Okay, this ought to be interesting. Democrats were trying to extend unemployment benefits yet again, when they were stopped by Senator Coburn (R). Coburn is leading a filibuster against the benefits, which would cost another $9 billion or so, because they weren't paid for and would add to our already monstrous debt. Now that the Senate has adjourned for Easter, the existing benefits will lapse for at least a week until the Senate can reconvene.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/89343-unemployment-benefits-to-lapse-for-a-week

Coburn blocked an effort to pass the package of extensions, which included a freeze in scheduled cuts to doctors' Medicare payments and a satellite television licensing provision to allow rural viewers to continue receiving network signals. Coburn objected to the measure because it wasn't paid for and would therefore add to the federal deficit.

Democrats have blamed Republicans for blocking the measure to extend the expiring provisions, but a GOP aide retorted that Democrats approved an adjournment resolution Thursday evening without reaching a deal on benefits.

Democratic and Republican senators reached an agreement late Thursday to pay for the $9.2 billion cost of a one-week extension. House Democratic leaders, however, balked at the proposal to offset the cost of the package because it would violate a tradition of not counting emergency spending measures against the budget.

Did you catch the last part? Some traditions are good, and some are bad, but this one is just plain ludicrous. If the money is spent, it comes out of the budget whether the spending was "emergency" in nature or not. The money is spent, and therefore it becomes part of our yearly deficit and our burgeoning national debt.


The Democrats are CLAIMING they want to get the deficit "under control," but you must admit that they're showing absolutely no sign of actually DOING that. They always have excuses and explanations why THIS extra spending is okay. As long as they continue to do that, we will NEVER "get the deficit under control," and we will continue our slide into bankruptcy and insolvency.

And I support Coburn's action for another reason, as well. Unemployment benefits are on the verge of becoming another entitlement... a benefit that will never end. If we subsidize unemployment through benefits then we will get more unemployment... and that's not what we need. And we sure as heck don't need a system where people who lose their jobs get free money from the government for two years or more.

It's time to realize two things: Our government doesn't have the money to constantly extend unemployment benefits, and doing so is NOT helping our economy or our unemployment rate.