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Unemployment benefits bill leaves no good choices for Congress

In December, some 1.3 million Americans lost their extended jobless benefits, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Before 2014, federal government and state governments provided up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, paid from the payroll taxes of the employed.

During the rise of the recession in June 2008, Congress approved a 13-week extension to unemployment benefits, raising the unemployment benefits period to upwards of 99 weeks in some states.

Since then, the unemployment benefits have decreased to 62 weeks in California and 43 to 63 weeks in most other states.

All unemployment benefits extension periods have expired throughout the U.S., dropping the benefits period to 26 weeks or fewer.

The government is at a standstill on further unemployment benefit extensions, with Republicans opposing any increase and Democrats remaining steadfast in their push for another extension.

Obama is quickly moving towards implementing a temporary jobless benefits extension where the unemployed will receive benefits again for an undetermined amount of time.

He called on members of Congress to make headway for the bill at the end of 2013. The $1-trillion spending bill is currently stalled in Congress.

“It’s very disappointing that Republicans in the Senate chose to block action tonight on a compromise solution to extend emergency unemployment insurance for 1.3 million Americans who have been actively looking for a job and have now had this vital lifeline cut off,” the White House said in a statement a few weeks ago.

Republicans justify their stance against the bill with three logical reasons: that the original unemployment benefits were intended to be temporary, adding another year of extended benefits will cost roughly $25 billion and add to the federal deficit, and that extended benefits are providing the unemployed with too large of a crutch.

Proponents for the unemployment benefits extension, mostly Democrats, argue that although overall unemployment rates have decreased, longterm employment still looks grim, remaining at its peak of 2.6 percent, the same high as the previous recession at the end of World War II.

Proponents also argue that unemployed Americans are not taking advantage of the jobless benefits, saying there is discrimination in the workplace against those who have been out of work for a long time.

Many hard-working, employed Americans stand firm against being taxed to assist the unemployed. An employed American might think, “Why am I paying for some lazy, unemployed stranger’s dinner?”

Americans should work together to strengthen an economy rather than let those who are struggling fall into poverty.

The conflict stems from whether aiding the unemployed is helping or harming the country overall. Seeing as how the federal deficit is at an all-time high, can we really afford to assist the unemployed for longer than 26 weeks?

As more Americans are forced to live in a temporary work force, where the employed are quickly interchangeable, it is hard to find a solution when every choice leaves us at debt.

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