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Extending Unemployment Beneficial Or Unintentional Deficit Essay

Unemployment Deficit Recently Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives was quoted as saying that unemployment benefits are the leading stimulus to an economy in need of a quick fix. Her reasoning was that the unemployed immediately spent those benefits, therefore generating economic activity. Financial experts were quick to point out that such reasoning would mean that every citizen should just go on unemployment then, because such action would generate so much economic activity that the recent recession would be a distant memory in a very short period of time.

The question that this paper will seek to answer is whether extending unemployment benefits is a boon to the economy as stated by Nancy Pelosi, or does the extension of those benefits only add to the deficit, thereby ensuring that unemployment continues to be a huge problem and a drag on the economy.

The answer to that question is important because of the current situation facing the United States. The official government unemployment figures hover at just under 10% and there are many additional millions of other unemployed individuals who are not included in that number, many of whom have just given up all hope of finding a job. Jobless benefits have been extended to three years with bleeding heart liberals decrying the notion that we as a country would leave our unemployed fellow citizens with no benefits at Christmas time, while cold-hearted conservatives are decrying the notion that...

The conservatives say it takes away all incentive to even look for work, and does nothing to alleviate the long-term unemployment scenario.
So, who is right and who is wrong? Many experts believe that today's job market is eerily similar to the late 1980's and early 1990's.

One expert wrote about the jobless rate at that time in the following manner; "In contrast to more educated professionals who could, at least until recently, anticipate a return to their previous living standard once they obtained a new position, blue-collar workers experiencing structural unemployment often face a future of reduced economic circumstances and the need to find new occupational opportunities (Hansen, 1988).

That same scenario is occurring today, but at an even faster rate. Many manufacturing, warehousing and manual labor intensive jobs have left America's shores to find greener pastures elsewhere around the world. The viability of electronic transitions have enhanced those efforts. Many of the former employees in these areas are now looking at chronic long-term unemployment. Paying these individuals not to work only adds to the disincentive to find a job, at least that is how some view it. Others, like our esteemed President, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama, say that not extending benefits to these individuals would lead to financial despair and chaos amongst the unemployed. In a July, 2010 speech he…

Sources used in this document:
References

Downing, N. (2009) Riding out the storm, State Legislatures, Vol. 35, Issue 8, pp. 22 -- 24

Hansen, G. (1988). Layoffs, plant closings, and worker displacement in America. Journal of Social Issues, 44(4), 153-171

Obama, B.H. (2010) Remarks on legislation extending unemployment insurance benefits, Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, 7/19/2010, pp. 1-2
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