(Warning!— very long post)

I realize I may be labeled a Pollyanna for making this early morning declaration, but I’ll risk it anyway.

Here in Florida I just read in the Herald that the stimulus money is delayed in much red tape, while direct aid to consumers pumps money into the economy with the instant hit of the CFC program, something we all knew when we argued for more benefits that would help not only us as individuals, but also the overall economy. Unfortunately, the stimulus was not constructed with a larger balance of direct aid for immediate stimulus.

In spite of all that, there’s been a small perk up in property sales here, mainly to billionaires, and I’ll add something I’ve noticed personally. Since I work in areas related to promotion (graphics, web, etc.)—jobs in my area tend to be the last to leave and the first to come back in the private sector as companies gear up for business (or at the start of a downturn try desperately to bring in customers).

Thanks, yes, I remember now. I caught only the end of the program. I had heard her name before, but never noticed her on a show. George obviously had her on that panel to create an impression of “fair and balanced” but to me she came off looking like a teenager stuck on some recently acquired dogma. I must be getting old, less patience with that kind of thing than ever.

There are plenty of fiscal conservatives out there, in both parties and in between, that I don’t have a problem with, even agree with in some areas. But mindless dogma spouting from a best seller seeker makes me glad we have at least minimal gun control, otherwise I’d be shooting up my tv every day.

“I think that is something that the administration and Congress are going to look very carefully at as we get closer to the end of this year,” Geithner said

Hi Nancy, I was reading your comment regarding someone on “This Week” making a comment about unemployment benefits.

The woman’s name is Michele Malkin. She is a far Right Wing Conservative. Most Conservatives hate social programs, no matter what the reason.

you need to read the link you posted more carefully, it does not say they wont look at it till years end, it states no jobs progression untill then

Has anyone from TX. rec’d their letter re: EB?

unfortunately they do not plan to begin looking at it till to year end and then only for states with a TUR of 9% or higher.

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN0248059020090802

Thanks. I think you answered the quesion I was asking on 3404.

Officials to seek unemployment benefits extension

http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=6899818306780

(AP:WASHINGTON) President Barack Obama’s top economic advisers say the administration will work with Congress to extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.

The head of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer, said Sunday that the administration is already looking ahead at an extension of benefits as that money runs out.

Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York says people who soon will lose their unemployment benefits deserve an extension. He says they are “the true victims” of the nation’s financial disaster.

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina says he also supports an extension of benefits.

Romer appeared Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” while Rangel and DeMint spoke to “Fox News Sunday.”

Notice this new upgraded opencongress site today looks better then old one..and yes with my IE8 no post button..Firefox as said is better to use has post button.

Well I just read that Congress and the president are working to extend unemployment for those running out of benefits soon…That’s good news.
Story was on msnbc web site a hour ago.

I think you’re right. Add to that the frequent comments that clump UI benefits with welfare, even though by definition the latter only goes to people who have worked sufficiently to get them. And even though the employed are nervous about their jobs, unless they just got hired, they still never lived through a recession as bad as this one (unless they’re 90 or something), and so don’t understand why, even with all the jobless lines on tv, that it’s so hard to find work, even fast food type work.

When Boston Globe ran it’s article about MA adding the TUR trigger and getting the 7 extra weeks, you should have seen the comments. My conclusion is that people with jobs are becoming jealous of the unemployed because they are getting more and more work piled on them and their benefits cut, etc. I think that a lot of them don’t realize that you only get half or less of what your paycheck used to be. I spoke with someone recently who said he was going to try to get laid off because he’d like to get his paycheck and stay home. I told him he would only get about half of what he was getting paid and he said something like…you’re kidding. Forget it. I couldn’t live on that.

I was wondering where everyone had gone; I knew they didn’t all find jobs, that’s for sure.

I still say try Firefox. :)

That was me, Melissa and you are welcome. I thought they were still working on the site or something and thought other people were just getting their posts in between OC working on it. Every morning for weeks my computer would tell me that Explorer 8 was downloaded and ready to install and I always chose “Remind me later”. Then that morning I did it and then the Post Comment button showed up here.

I just watched that “This Week” show this morning and was appalled at the comments of one of the panelists, a young woman reporter who seemed to be still under the delusion that giving unemployment benefits made things worse because it hindered the incentive to look for work(!) Fortunately, several others on George’s panel quickly squashed her point of view by pointing out that while that might be somewhat valid in mild recessions, it was certainly not the case in this one, since there really were no jobs to be found for most people, even with the greatest efforts to find them. She was only there to promote her new book anyway, seems to me.

Geithner: Administration To Address Extending Unemployment Benefits

In my exclusive “This Week” interview, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner signaled that the administration would likely extend unemployment benefits again.

The New York Times reported this morning that up to 1.5 million people could lose their benefits by year’s end. When I pressed Geithner for a response, he promised the administration would “do enough to bring this economy back” and pledged to take up the issue “as we get closer to the end of this year.”

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/08/geithner-administration-to-address-extending-unemployment-benefits.html

I tried IE8 on one of my computers, had to reformat the hard drive, it caused so many problems. Google problems with IE8 before installing it (note the date of the comment about problems first)
I have IE8 on the computer I’m using now.

Hi Melissa—

Besides IE 8, anyone with an older computer that can’t do that upgrade can alternatively use Firefox, which in my opinion is much faster anyway.

thank you to whoever it was that said to update you computer to explorer 8.. I could not find a post button the other way.

I hope the HR 3404 bill goes into effect in Sept. sometime or sooner. I have 1 week left of EB and I am done.

Melissa

Go here to HR 3404 on Open Congress:

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3404/comments?comment_sort=newest

This whole forum may end up migrating over there anyway as the bill gets traction.

Are they thinking about issuing another extension after TUR I was cut off in April because of a TRA/TAA settlement which was the rest of my TUR the gov’t don’t miss a beat when it comes to the little man. Be Blessed everyone out there <3

God Bless You and Yours!

http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/pr090730.shtml

I agree. I wonder if 6.5 might be better because someone earlier mention that was Pres. Bush benchmark for UI extension. I think income tax exempt should be included.

Just one last thing

The new bill will help many, but not all come this fall- It’s only fair that our elected officials stand up & say 8% and above will receive the 13 weeks extension which would qualify most states.

GOOD ARTICLE -NEW YORK TIMES

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32254520/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times//

The current federal unemployment extensions, the EUC and state EB are due to expired in Dec 2009. HR 3404 pushes this deadline into 2010, so that people running out of regular benefits in Dec 2009 and Jan 2010 can be eligible for the EUC and EB extensions. And for those of us that will have exhausted all extensions, EUC and EB, HR 3404 has another 13 week EUC extension, for states with high unemployment, 9% over three months. So depending on how well this bill goes, it might become law by the middle of September, best case anyway.

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=ab-jobsearch&tid=11500

Hi there, nice puppy. :)

No, it’s not a bug, and they go away, but understand that it takes a while for them to go away when net traffic or your site traffic or our own connections are slower than what you might be seeing on your end.

It’s really not a big deal (except for those of us prone to migraines—ha-ha!), more of a design peeve and minor annoyance. I hate to complain (but obviously I am), since this site has been such a great service to so many of us.

Either ignore my ramblings, or if it’s not a huge bother, maybe just make them a bit smaller, perhaps?

The stars only pop up when there is a request to the server (ie, when you post a new comment, etc). Are the stars not going away? Is there a bug? Or do you just not like the stars in general?

Thanks!

Personally, I think they should have the law set up for individuals; this part about state levels is a bit artificial, since the unemployment often has more to do with industry sectors, age, and other factors rather than location in whichever state. That’s especially true for commuter states like Connecticut and others. But the political reality would never allow for anything so fair.

I agree, helping the long term unemployed anywhere is not a “pet project.” I thought the main point of dispaced2007’s first post was that whenever there is a lot of argument about changing a bill by states wanting something for their own constituents that bills can get bogged down in argument. Even if it’s not labeled “pork” (a lot of stuff is labeled that in Congress these days), chances are that if the 9% limit is raised there will be opposition on the grounds that it will have an indeterminate cost, since so many other states then might qualify if the recession goes on longer than even the experts expect.