Barney Frank States the Obvious: Unemployment Benefits Could Have Passed Without Tax Deal
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Barney Frank suggests unemployment benefits could have passed without the Obama-McConnell tax deal. According to Frank, "It's totally unbalanced.... unemployment shouldn't be considered a concession they give to us." Unemployment benefits have been passed some four or five times since 2008. Frank reminds us what happened the last time a Republican tried to hold up an extension.
Via HuffPost:
Frank reminded HuffPost of how it was when Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) blocked a renewal of jobless aid in February. The media treated it as an outrage, and members of his own party begged Bunning to stop. Gradually, though, his insistence on "paying for" federally-funded benefits became a mainstream GOP position. Frank said Democrats should have made an effort to have that fight again.
"I don't know what the end would have been but I don't think we tried hard enough to make it clear that they were the ones obstructing," he said. "I think we should have had that debate for a couple weeks."
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Wednesday that Republicans would have allowed a short reauthorization even without the tax cut deal.
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Comments
Obama sees this a win for him, I think -- he can look like a
moderate hero to those who don't pay attention and he gets to punch hippies.
But his peevishness comes through, and that does turn even the uninformed off...I think.
Another example of the age
Another example of the age old Democratic habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. In the past, I used to think this was due to ineptness and incompetence. Now I assume it is by design.
Also, Maddow on the rest of the so-called GOP
concessions.
http://bluelyon.wordpress.com/2010/12/09...
We are getting played.
not sure if I understand how the US UI system works
is it so that all of the "Tiers" and the "Extended benefits" are temporary programs that are now expiring unless they get another extension, and the only thing permanent is the 26 initial weeks?
Yes, but there is no extension past 99 weeks
in this deal. In other words, the US Congress already created tiers up to 99 weeks, and now is extending the benefits of those for whom benefits have not been extended to 99 weeks. But this doesn't create a new tier for the people at 99 weeks. Those people are out.