From the Associated Press:

First, do no harm. Economists say the most important part of the jobs plan President Barack Obama will unveil Thursday night is the renewal of two measures already in place—a cut in Social Security taxes and emergency aid for the unemployed.

His new proposals, like spending more for transportation projects and cutting taxes for companies that hire the unemployed, probably wouldn’t add many jobs, they say. Not soon, anyway.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson is joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss the differing unemployment statistics, and the consequences of long term unemployment benefits.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment Rate at 10.0% in March
Coffee & Markets: Friday’s discussion of unemployment numbers
Jobs and Wages

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I’m in favor of a social safety net. My position on this is liberal, not libertarian. I’ve never personally taken a dime in unemployment benefits but I don’t judge people who lose their job and have to get public assistance.

But here’s no contradiction in being in favor of benefits for the jobless and also acknowledging the reality that at at some point, these benefits become counter-productive. It seems pretty obvious to me that at a certain point they no longer become an incentive to get a job but start to be a real disincentive. I personally think 99 weeks is way, way past that point.

I was talking about this on Twitter the other day when I first heard about The 99ers. They were described to me as a sort of union for the unemployed.

They have a slick looking website. (It’s an interesting and perhaps telling detail that that they are promoting the fake ‘ poor people in Minnesota can’t carry more than $20’ story) They have their own #99ers hashtag on Twitter. They have a video with music that could be in a beer commercial.

On one hand, this IS a form of productivity but mostly his just strikes me as an awful, awful idea. Being jobless or unproductive isn’t a condition that anyone would want to stay in, but I can’t help feeling that as soon as you have your own Twitter hashtag, you’ve actually formed some sort of little club.

By declaring yourself a 99er, you’re identifying yourself with what should be a temporary state, not at all part of your being. Politically, this is a group out there pushing for more benefits for the unemployed with apparently no end in sight; a bottomless pit of dependency.

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From the Associated Press:

The Senate Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping tax package that would save millions of Americans thousands of dollars in higher taxes while also reducing their Social Security taxes and extending jobless benefits.

President Barack Obama swiftly urged the House to pass the $858 billion bill without changes, a slap at Democratic liberals eager to toughen a part of the measure that permits up to $10 million to pass to heirs estate tax-free.

A wide array of tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush is scheduled to expire on Jan. 1—just two weeks away—affecting taxpayers at every income level. The bill passed by the Senate, 81-19, would extend those cuts for two years.

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Nothing changes so much as it stays the same. The Democrats continue to be relentless in their determination to expand all levels of government, and Republicans, despite just coming off an historic electoral victory nationwide, still don’t get it.

It would be impossible, under normal circumstances, to imagine that Democrats in Congress, having gone through what they have for the past two years, do not yet have their facts straight. They still are mired in the rhetoric of the past, and apparently are determined to remain there.

Following the Republican “deal” with President Obama on the expiring Bush tax cuts, socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (the only Democrat politician honest enough to identify his true political ideology) said:

Republican colleagues want huge tax breaks for the richest people in this country, but the reality is that the top one percent already — today — owns more wealth than the bottom 90 percent,” he said. “How much more do they want? When is enough enough? You want it all?

Just for the record, let’s put the facts on the table and burn them into the consciousness of every single Republican in Congress.

1. Nobody, but nobody is getting a tax cut by extending current law. We are simply maintaining the current tax structure. It gets us nothing and costs us nothing. Obama has referred to tax cuts, Republicans have referred to tax cuts, and Sanders, cited above, has referred to tax cuts, as have many other Democrats. How is it that Republicans so easily fall into the Democrats’ lexicon trap? Nobody is getting a tax cut by extending Bush-era tax law!
2. Those of us who pay taxes already pay way too much. The gaffe-prone Vice President, demanded that the “rich” be “patriotic…be part of the deal.” The top 1 percent of income earners pay about 40 percent of all income taxes. That is almost half of all income taxes collected in the US, Mr. Biden! Exactly how patriotic do they need to be?

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In early December, Congress passed the Child Nutrition Act of 2010 (The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act); however, controversy still surrounds the bill regarding the cuts to the food stamp fund in order to pay for the act.

With a record number of Americans receiving food stamps as this WSJ report highlights, are those cuts to the fund such a good idea?  From the WSJ:

Some 42.9 million people collected food stamps last month, up 1.2% from the prior month and 16.2% higher than the same time a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nationwide 14% of the population relied on food stamps as of September but in some states the percentage was much higher. In Washington, D.C., Mississippi and Tennessee – the states with the largest share of citizens receiving benefits – more than a fifth of the population in each was collecting food stamps.

With Obama signing the bill, it is noted that Democrats were not happy with the looting of the food stamp fund:

The major snag was over how to fund healthier school meals and related programs. The deal called for cuts in future food stamp benefits, which alarmed members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Rouse met with CBC members at a White House session to listen to their concerns, and President Obama dropped in for a quick visit. In the end, the White House pledged at some future time to deal with the food stamp issue.

You would never know, would you?  In all of the fury and progressive passion to soak the rich, no one is chattering about the expiration of unemployment benefits–except for the unemployed.  With rising gas and food prices and the holidays quickly approaching, the Democrats zeal for taxing the rich has eclipsed the need to stimulate the economy and create jobs with unemployment compensation.  As Pelosi states, it is “cruel” not to extend the benefits and typically the Republicans are blamed for this cruelty.  But, now it is the Democrats holding up the unemployment benefit extension.  And no one seems to even notice.

The agreement reached by the White House and GOP called for an extension of unemployment benefits, which now seems to be DOA according to House Dems.

The fact that the Democrats are blocking the tax cut deal between the White House and GOP begs the question of whether the Democrats are capable of governing according to the will of the American people and in a bipartisan manner.  Clearly, the Democrats are squandering this opportunity based on their Keynesian and progressive taxation ideology as exemplified here by Rep. Barney Frank.

The baseless notion that the wealthy do not pay their fair share has been argued, but facts are facts, and the rich do pay the most taxes already:

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Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) is upset that Obama’s compromise to win an extension of unemployment benefits also means that no Americans will face a tax increase next year.

He appeared on Minnesota public radio and suggested that Democrats should create a ‘crisis’ around the holidays so the GOP will extend the benefits and allow taxes to increase next year. Or, something like that.

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Democrat priorities.  As if the last 20 months haven’t been enough for the American people, this is just more incentive in November to vote the Democrats out.  Because Medicare has been looted for decades, Democrats must now turn to the food stamp program for funds, while touting that this unpopular teacher bailout will not add to the deficit.

Via Fox:

Some House Democrats and advocacy groups are getting squeamish about the move to fund the $26 billion state aid bill by making cuts to food stamps, a federal assistance program currently depended on by nearly 41 million Americans.

[snip]

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, the number of people on the food stamp rolls has been growing to record levels for 18 straight months. Nearly $5.5 billion in aid went out to beneficiaries in May alone. The number of May recipients marked a 19 percent increase from a year ago and the USDA projects that next year’s enrollment will reach about 43.4 million.

The Obama administration has pushed hard for the $26 billion bill. The White House argued that it is essential to protecting 300,000 teachers and other nonfederal government workers from election-year layoffs and will not add to the national deficit.

[snip]

“This proposal is fully paid for, in part by closing loopholes that encourage corporations that ships American jobs overseas. So it will not add to our deficit,” he said. “And the money will only go toward saving the jobs of teachers and other essential professionals…I urge members of both parties to come together and get this done, so that I can sign this bill into law.”  emphasis mine

Same old rhetoric from Obama–punishing businesses–so it’s all ok.  States wouldn’t want to follow New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s lead, would they?  If the states could find the cuts, they wouldn’t need to pillage the American taxpayer, and then they wouldn’t need a bailout.  California is broke, yet their teachers are the highest paid in the nation.  So, private sector greed is bad, but public sector (taxpayer funded–as in, you are taking your neighbor’s hard-earned money) greed is good?

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According to Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unemployment benefits are the best way to create jobs, so why didn’t she get with Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and press him to schedule a pre-recess vote on the Republican alternative to the Democrat’s jobs/unemployment benefits bill introduced on June 30, 2010 by Senator Scott Brown (R-MA).

Brown’s bill is deficit neutral and could easily solve the current problems in passing the unemployment benefits package:

My compromise bill uses unspent stimulus funds and cuts wasteful and unnecessary spending in other areas to pay for these important programs. Believe it or not, there is about $37 billion in stimulus money just sitting in a Washington slush fund when it should be put to good use immediately.

While my bill pays for additional FMAP assistance for one more year, this phase-down provides states an opportunity to get their fiscal houses in order — but also makes it clear that they can no longer pass the buck to the federal government, which has budgetary problems of its own.  emphasis mine

Obama, Pelosi, and Reid should be called out on why they blatantly ignored Brown’s bill and also answer why they couldn’t fast track this one like they did with the  passage  of the original stimulus and Obamacare.  Of course, the answer is obvious:  Brown is a Republican and they couldn’t possibly give a win to the GOP.  So much for bipartisanship.

For the record, Democrats own this economy; they had the supermajority.  It’s their agenda, their stimulus, their failed policies.  Americans deserve and should be demanding answers from Obama and the Democrat leadership regarding their policies–Bush has been out of office for 18 months–there is no more childish blame shifting and finger pointing.

It is time for the Republicans to go on the offensive and force the Democrats to explain themselves to the American people on where are the jobs and why they squandered $800 billion of taxpayer money.  They need to stop fearing any backlash, because I’m not sure if there would be one, or maybe just from the left-wing MSM.  Americans are starving for someone to fight back and call out Obama and Congress for what they are doing to our country (paging NJ Governor Chris Christie).

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Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed another Democratic multi-billion dollar legislative handout designed to temporarily alleviate the continuous financial burden hanging over the nation’s unemployed and fiscally irresponsible states.

Democrats—with six Republicans tagging along for the spending spree—swiped the nation’s Centurion Card to the tune of $140 billion, and went home with bags overflowing with goodies: subsides for health insurance, funds to prevent states from laying off public service employees, extensions of unemployment benefits, etc.

Senator Chuck Schumer—apparently now worried about the chattering class—patted himself on the back for a day’s work and proclaimed, “While our Republican colleagues on healthcare have been stonewall[ing], on jobs they know that they block us at their own political peril … and substantive peril as well.”

New York’s senior senator is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

This initiative can’t possibly be touted as a jobs bill when nearly 90% of the funds appropriated are unrelated to job-creation. Moreover, the Republicans who did cross party lines to support this measure, supported—what amounted to—another spending bill, and they might be doing that at their own political peril.

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I grew up in Kentucky where every boy who ever played baseball knew the name of Jim Bunning. He is the Hall of Fame pitcher who threw a perfect game for the Philadelphia Phillies and knew how to play hardball long before the tingly-legged Chris Matthews co-opted the name for his decidedly softball show.

If you are anywhere near being a fiscal conservative you have to absolutely love what Senator Jim Bunning did this week. This week Senator Bunning showed Senator Harry Reid, and a few Senate Republicans how to throw one high and tight. His one man play at fiscal responsibility has the Washington “in” crowd crying foul and showing their hypocrisy.

In case you missed it here is a brief rundown. A few weeks ago the Congress passed a bill known as “Pay-Go,” a fluffy piece of nonsense posturing. On its surface Pay-Go seems to be fiscally responsibly, if you want to spend some money you need to show where it is going to come from. Senator Bunning knew the bill was hogwash because any spending could avoid being subject to Pay Go if it was “an emergency.” He didn’t vote for the bill for that reason. He also saw another flaw in the bill, a single Senator could hold up the whole Senate if they wanted to.

This week when Senator Reid tried to push through an extension to unemployment benefits Senator Bunning played a little chin music for the Majority leader and put the breaks on the additional 10 billion in spending. Senator Bunning invoked his right to stop the bill and call for the application of the Pay Go rule. When members of the media hounded Senator Bunning for a comment he showed them the door, of the elevator he was taking. Nice added touch!

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Arianna once again has her panties in a bunch, and I’m the libertarian brave enough to reach in and fix them.

Yes, it’ll drive Huffington into spastic frenzy.  But, this is not a reason to subsidize the minimum wage.  David Shuster will tunnel ever deeper into his rabbit hole of despair.  Sadly, neither is this a reason to subsidize the minimum wage.

Unemployment is somewhere between 6.3-17.3%, and that is why we need to allow small businesses to pay employees a couple bucks an hour and have unemployment make up the difference.

Don’t jump to conclusions here, please read my plan through.  This isn’t an off-the-wall proposal.  Republicans can reach across the aisle to Obama with an idea Paul Krugman himself supports.  Presenting this as a “no-cost jobs bill” and “free stimulus” is exactly the kind of reform judo conservatives need.

Overall, as Cato points out 6.3% – 17.3% of America is unemployed depending on your definition of unemployment.  In December 2009:

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One cannot drink oneself into sobriety. Yet that is precisely what Congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration have attempted with our economy for the past year with predictable and painful results.

Unemployment continues to stand at an official 10% for the third month in a row, the worst joblessness in 27 years.  The real unemployment rate is far worse.  Included in the December economic figures was a shocker – the percentage of adult men who are working has fallen to the lowest level in recorded U.S. history at just 80%.  That means that one in five men in this country between 18 and 54 are neither working nor claiming unemployment.  They have fallen completely out of the workforce.

That helps explain why December’s unemployment rate remained at November’s 10% rate in spite of an additional 85,000 Americans losing their jobs.  At the same time the new jobless claims were added, many of the previously unemployed were simply removed from the workforce numbers altogether.

Economists estimate our true jobless rate as high as 17%, and that could grow in coming months as more Americans exhaust their unemployment benefits and lose homes to foreclosure.

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