Three Years Of Unemployment Benefits?

Those aren’t “benefits.” It’s called welfare.

I’m not supposed to be grumbling right now, given that Obama has capitulated on taxes.

The president tonight announced a “bipartisan framework” for agreement on, among other things, to extend the Bush tax cuts for two years. A Republican House aide tells me tonight it is “a damn good deal.” And so it is, from the perspective of conservatives.

As they’ve been demanding, all of the Bush tax cuts are extended for two years. The estate tax that was due to pop back up to a rate of 55 percent was retained, but with a $5 million exemption and at a rate of 35 percent (better than Republicans privately expected). For that huge concession, the president extracted… a 13 month extension in unemployment benefits.

Bipartisanship. For the first time in the Obama administration.

I looked for for a cogent liberal argument to contrast, but I was unable to find any. It’s mostly all like this.

It is far past the time…
for us to quit begging. The workers of America must rise up, and demand their fair share of the feast. I’m through voting for DINOs. See, I can remember when Republicans respected American workers more than Obama does. He’s no Democrat, he’s not even liberal enough to be an Eisenhower Republican,

Workers need to rise up. That should sound familiar? The DKos’ers are upset that some people will lose their unemployment benefits welfare. Those who have already exceeded the 99 weeks.

Just focusing on unemployment benefits–this only funds the four tiers of benefits created thus far, up to 99 weeks of benefits. It does not create another, 5th tier for all of those people who have exhausted the 99 weeks they’ve received, the 99ers. There’s now over two million in that category. Their number is expected to triple over the next year–there will be 6 million people who have exhausted everything by the end of next year.

Humn, I think they’ve got that wrong. This isn’t a continuation of the current program. It’s a 13 month extension of jobless benefits. NRO:

What liberals got out of the deal was the extension of some of their favorite tax credits and, above all, a 13-month extension of federal subsidies for unemployment benefits — with no compensatory spending cuts. This stretches subsidies for the jobless out to three years. It’s far from our ideal policy, but the deal is still worth taking: If it won’t do much good for the economy, it will avert a serious blow to it.

Who’s right?

In other news, more ways we subsadize higher education.

I’m ready to go full-rant right now about this.

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