Business

Democrats focused on bringing down the unemployment rates
by Zuzana Zelenakova

As the unemployment rate reaches its peak in the US Democrats are planning to extend emergency unemployment benefits further into the next year. A new stimulus package should cost $100 billion and help the jobless after crossing the period of 26 weeks. Up to that point unemployment insurance package is given under permanent law. According to the House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer if Congress had not passed the first stimulus package back in February, costing $787 billion, the current jobless rate would be above 11 percent instead of 10.2 percent. "Is it where we want to be? It is not, but it is certainly a very, very definite, positive impact on the economy," said Hoyer. "T! he actions we have taken have worked." In addition, economists claim that the flow of money should not be stopped at this point of the worst economic crisis in 80 years as the markets are still fragile. "This is the most effective way to get money into the economy. It's given to people who are simply out of money," says one of the main supporters of the idea Republican Jim McDermott. "They're spending it. They're not socking it away in a mattress somewhere." Of course, there are those whose opinion on the matter is quite the opposite. For them, extending benefits means adding to the nation´s debt, which has reached about $12 trillion. Also, when people are getting the insurance they are not under that much pressure to find a job as promptly as without it. And that certainly does not lower the jobless rates. "Calling more government spending and more debt a 'jobs package' is laughable, and the Democrats' frantic push for more of the same is yet another acknowledgment th! at their trillion-dollar stimulus isn't working," said Minorit! y Leader John Boehner.

related story (sgx16042): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091201/ap_on_bi_ge/us_cost_of_c...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

posted by Blog TechSource @ 1:46 PM