Watching Congress do anything this year is kind of like being forced to sit through “Waterworld”… You thought you knew what you were in for but at some point, it’s just tiresome and long and halfway through, you have no idea what’s really going on. Although, for the sake of clarification, I am in no way comparing Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to Kevin Costner (you figure out who benefits in that one).
And here’s what I mean. The Senate was back to consider tax breaks and unemployment benefits – again. You may recall that hasn’t gone very well to date: unemployment benefits were noticeably absent in the efforts to pass a jobs bill. The specific bill under consideration was actually HR 4213, which had been introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) in the House last year; that version passed the next day, on December 10, 2009. The bill then went to the Senate Committee on Finance where it finally went to the Senate for a vote. And then the amendments began. I actually started to count them but got a headache and stopped (I know, sounds weak, but I have a terrible cold – that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it). You can see a list of what happened to the bill here.
Finally, on Wednesday, the Senate approved a kitchen sink’s worth of measures, while leaving out any real mention of job creation (one of the most controversial features of the bill). Here’s what the Senate version of the bill, as passed, would do:
- The bill would extend through the end of the year provisions that were expiring that would offer as many as 99 weeks of unemployment checks. State benefits last for 26 weeks – after that, those who are unemployed can apply for benefits from the feds for up to 73 weeks.
- The bill also extended the 65% federal subsidy for COBRA health insurance through the end of the year.
- The measure would also extend a number of expiring tax provisions. Those include education expenses for teachers; energy-efficient tax credits; sales tax deductions; and research and development credit for businesses (Microsoft was pushing for this one).
The cost of the bill? About $140-150 billion – the price tag doesn’t include any version of the House’s $154 billion job-creation bill. Between the expenses and the bickering, don’t expect it to pass “as is” in the House.
This garbage is so frustrating. Watching people defend these bills makes me go NUTS. Of course we want to help everyone it is human nature, but at what cost? Another $150Billion for additional incentives not to take a job that may be beneath you, or force you to move. These unintended consequences really do affect the free market.
/rant lol
The bill will not give another 73 weeks from the date it takes effect. It extends for 38 weeks or less, the date that one is eligible for the tiers of the federal payments.
The most anyone will be able to get would be someone whose state benefits run out before May 1. They would have recieved 34 weeks of the first two tiers and would be just under the wire to qualify for the next 13 weeks.
That’s a maximum of 47 weeks, deminishing as one’s state benefits run out later.
Check out my proposal to use this as a stimulus and if you agree, spread the word!
http://takeamericaforward.com/economy/unemployment-benefits-stimulus/
That is not consistent with other reports. 😉
How about expanding on your brilliant comment and give us some data (and your evaluation of it) on those other reports?
There’s no need to be rude – especially when you’re clearly coming on my site simply to promote your own.
I focus on tax, not on unemployment. The unemployment piece was part of a bill that extending expiring tax credits which was the reason I blogged it. I don’t profess to be a UC expert.
That said, I have followed the bill pretty closely including its predecessor bill from 2009 (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125745002293831629.html). Several stories have been run about the expiring benefits in the NY Times, WSJ, etc, and you can also read about it at the National Employment Law Project (nelp.org). What those sources agree on is that some states allow up to 26 weeks of coverage. After that, there is a 34-53 week temporary program of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) and a 13-20 week permanent program of Extended Benefits (EB) available from the feds for workers in a number of states. If you qualify for the maximum benefits, it can run to 99 weeks (26 + 53 + 20).
I now refer you to my comment policy: http://www.taxgirl.com/official-comment-policy/
Sorry about the excess reaction; I have a short fuse on no data rebuttals.
(Maybe you could give me a more benevolent avatar)
You’re correct about the amount of the benefits but, each one can only be applied for WHEN THE PRECEDING ONE RUNS OUT!
Hence the math in my first comment.
As to website promoting: you will have noticed that my site has no ads of any kind. It exist for people to brainstorm ideas and circulate them.
All I am trying to promote is discussion and concept evolution.