Unemployment Benefits That Passed Last Month

The economy continues to appear to be taking one step back instead of two steps forward, by creating just enough jobs to keep pace with new entrants to the work force. So, the big question is… where did the 453,000 “other” previously unemployed job seekers go last month? If the economy ONLY created 103,000 jobs, but more than 556,000 people dropped OFF the unemployment radar – where did they go?

With expiring unemployment benefits, it could be possible that there was no “incentive” for these very long term unemployed to continue looking for work, a requirement when receiving unemployment benefits. It wasn’t certain that benefits WOULD be extended to this group until the law was signed by President Obama on December 17th.

These varying degrees of unemployment paint an inaccurate picture of where this country is on the road to recovery. The labor department chose to INCREASE the time it counts unemployment, to better understand the effects of the recession. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Labor Statistics admits that the long-term unemployment rate has grown dramatically over the past few years, and the “cap” may be understating the true average and severity of affected workers. While finding “true” data is important to monitor and maintain, over-categorizing data may further lead to inaccurate reports, and the disappearance of half a million job-seekers!

Critics of the Healthcare Reform Bill call it unconstitutional to require EVERY citizen to have health insurance, too expensive to fund to the extent it was proposed, and that it was RUSHED through without enough thoughtful consideration. Who can forget then-House leader, Nancy Pelosi saying, “If you want to know what’s in the Healthcare Bill, you’ll just have to pass it to see.”

The first “order of business” of the new Congress is to put steps in place to ensure that these types of rushed bills, and eventual laws, do not get pushed through without adequate consideration in the future. Each bill must now have constitutional backing, money available to properly fund the project, and the entire bill must be made public for all to see, read, and digest, BEFORE a vote is taken!

The recent unemployed numbers, suggest that unemployment in this country is improving. However, if the number of people ACTIVELY seeking employment RISES again in January, we may be looking a different reality. Also, when the government gives someone an incentive to NOT look for work, such as the extended unemployment benefits that passed last month, it may be that some people would rather take the benefits than find a job.