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17 Jul 2010 11:54

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Politics: Obama thinks Republicans have disdain for the poor

  • They’ve got no problem spending money on tax breaks for folks at the top who don’t need them and didn’t even ask for them; but they object to helping folks laid off in this recession who really do need help.
  • President Barack Obama • Trying to cast the GOP as the party of the rich. The crux of his argument is that the party pushed through the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich, but are unwilling to help out the unemployed in their time of need. Or another way to put it – the GOP prefers to allow a trickle-down from the rich to the poor, while the Democrats would prefer that the government help the poor. However, it’s worth pointing out that while Bush cut taxes, he also extended unemployment – with GOP support. So take from that what you will. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jul 2010 21:28

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Politics: Paul Krugman: What’s the point of punishing the jobless?

  • As I and others have been arguing at length, penny-pinching in the midst of a severely depressed economy is no way to deal with our long-run budget problems. And penny-pinching at the expense of the unemployed is cruel as well as misguided.
  • New York Times columnist (and “Get Him To the Greek” co-star) Paul Krugman • Discussing the bizarre situation which led to the lack of unemployment extensions. He’s pushes hard on the issue, saying that the solution is worse than the problem. “Cutting off benefits to the unemployed,” he writes, “will make them even more desperate for work — but they can’t take jobs that aren’t there.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2010 10:36

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Politics: Unemployment benefits: Robert Byrd’s death held this up, too

  • what The Senate’s attempt to increase unemployment benefits failed to pass yet again last night.
  • why They didn’t have 60 votes to stop the filibuster; they had 59. The 60th would’ve been Byrd. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

30 May 2010 13:34

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U.S.: Unemployed people get lost in the Senate shuffle again

  • good The House decided to pass an extension on jobless benefits before the June 2 deadline.
  • bad The Senate didn’t, and they don’t go back to work until June 7, so no benefits next week, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 May 2010 11:07

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Biz: Private businesses less responsible for people’s income than ever

  • 41.9% of personal income comes from private wages and salaries
  • 17.9%of personal income comes from government programs source

 

  • » What this means: Simply put, it’s an unsustainable trend. The government raises money through taxes on wages and salaries, and with many people out of work and benefits making up a larger share of personal income, the government is on the hook for more of people’s collective personal incomes. Part of this, yes, is due to the stimulus. Once the economy gets back in tip-top shape, will the numbers go up? Maybe. But the numbers were going down even before the recession due to the increase in benefits.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Apr 2010 11:27

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Tech: If you’re our Facebook fan, you’re worth this much to us

  • $3.60 pay up quick, suckers; we need money source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Mar 2010 21:40

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Politics: ABC News cameras resort to chasing down Jim Bunning

  • “EXCUSE ME! I HAVE TO GET TO THE FLOOR!” Jim Bunning, the senator and former baseball player, may kinda sorta have a point in his PAY-GO criticism, but this bill is really not the one to be making said point on. And the media is chasing him down looking for droplets of blood they can trail down as a result. Prior to this clip, Bunning flipped off an ABC News producer, which generally isn’t considered proper decorum in the Senate. (On a side note, we’d just like to point out that Fox News reporter Griff Jenkins has done this before.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Feb 2010 10:32

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Politics: Jim Bunning getting empathy, not support, for unemployment move

  • All Senator Bunning was saying is that it should be paid for. It will pass, though, because it’s a temporary extension.
  • Sen. Jon Kyl • Discussing Jim Bunning’s infamous blocking of an unemployment benefits extension. Both Bunning and Kyl claim that the bill didn’t pass because it wasn’t agreed upon as part of the PAYGO extension – in other words, the government didn’t have a way to pay for it. Bunning, who this Fox News article calls an “outcast,” for his part blames Harry Reid for blowing up the bipartisan bill. “All of the programs that you have talked about could have been extended and for much longer periods if Senator Reid, your leader, had not blown up the bipartisan job bill,” he noted. Still doesn’t not make you a jerk, dude. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2010 21:34

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Politics: Jim Bunning has no problem blocking unemployment benefits

  • The senator reportedly said “tough #*@(” to another senator criticizing him. Last night, the lame duck Senator (and former baseball star) complained about missing a basketball game because he wanted to block extending unemployment benefits that much. He’s the only Senator holding up the bill. Why? He says that there’s no way to pay for it. Come on. This is NOT the bill to be playing politics on, man. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 6 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2009 20:27

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U.S.: The Senate gets completely behind extending unemployment

  • 14 weeks amount of time the bill, which still needs to go through the House, covers for those about to run out of unemployment source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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