Time For 99ers To Take Back Control Of Their Lives
By Cindy Landers on February 9, 2011, 1:49 pm
As any 99er will attest, of course it is — it is far and away too large. And from individual and humanitarian perspectives, it most certainly is. But when legislators feeling the pressure of national deficit and debt-conscious constituents see a number like 1.4 million, it does not equate to the pressing need of the 14.5 million unemployed, two-thirds of which are provided for via some form of unemployment assistance. It is a number that is less than one percent of the total national workforce. It is a number that will be difficult to sell when every legislator will be paying lip-service to the “general welfare” and doing the best for the most and the unfortunate truth of the existence of those that fall through the cracks. Those lawmakers that are inclined to relegate the unemployed and long-term unemployed to positions of social pariahs (regardless of their work histories) will not give the number a second glance. Those that grudgingly see a need for Unemployment Insurance and compensatory benefits programs might see the number as one of minor concern and something that time might rectify.
Lee And Scott
Lee and Scott expressed frustration last year, when they first introduced an extension bill, that President Barack Obama omitted help for the 99ers from the deal he struck with congressional Republicans that preserved tax breaks for the rich and reauthorized extended federal unemployment benefits through 2011. Federal unemployment benefits enacted in response to the recession provide the unemployed up to 73 weeks of benefits beyond the standard 26 weeks provided by states. (The full complement of federal benefits is only available in 25 states, so some exhaustees are not officially 99ers.)
A Conspiracy
If you are a 99er who has worked your whole life, you have no doubt at one time or another had to deal with the good-old-boy-boss’s-best-buddy-crowd and the inequality that it naturally perpetuates. It is in fact one of the key problems with true equal opportunity in employment and business in this country. How many times has the fate of a business or individual been decided by what secret society or other social network he or she belongs to, rather than intelligence, skill, and aptitude? This is one of the things we are going to have to correct when we retake this country, as it has unquestionably hurt the quality of American productivity. You cannot have the best product when it is derived from a system that makes who you know the priority rather than what you know.