When Republicans use fear of adding to the federal deficit to excuse denial of extended jobless benefits to laid-off American workers who yet cannot find a new job, that shows where their heart lies. Had the topic been tax cuts for business to stimulate jobs, they would have rushed to adopt such a measure, even without a pay-as-you-go offset, and even though it would also expand the deficit. But helping jobless workers buy bread and pay rent and utilities while they continue to look for work? Not.
They proved their disregard for the plight of workers again on Thursday by mounting a filibuster to defeat a Senate bill that would have extended aid to 1.3 million laid-off workers, whose benefits ran out yesterday. To break the GOP filibuster, Democrats needed a 60-vote margin. Republicans voting in lockstep, and joined by maverick Nebraska’s Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, held Democrats to 57 votes, against their filibuster margin of 41 votes.
The vote Thursday was the third defeat of the bill to extend unemployment. Absent a sign that Republicans would relent and support the measure, Senate Majority Harry Reid said he wouldn’t bring it up again.
The Republican logic for defeating extended unemployment aid escapes us. With minimal unemployment benefits, laid-off workers can at least buy some basic necessities for their families while they keep searching for jobs. That means that dollars for unemployment aid keep circulating in the economy through payments for basic food stables, utilities and housing. With additional unemployment aid, many jobless Americans could also prevent being ejected from their homes and apartments, also alleviating the need for public safety-net costs.
Indeed, unemployment dollars help prop up consumer demand and thus help other people keep their jobs. When their unemployment funds are chopped off, that valuable turnover spending evaporates, leaving both the economy and laid-off workers in more dire straits, with the latter needing more public aid, and even more jobless workers added to the list of unemployed.