Extended unemployment benefits will run out today for million of Americans because the Republicans are blocking a bill to extend them because they will add to the deficit. A majority of economists are in agreement that unemployment benefits are a great way, if not the best way, to stimulate the economy by putting money into the hands of people who will spend it rather than squirrel it away.
However the Republicans are also demanding that we extend the Bush-era tax cuts for people earning over $250,000 a year, passed by a Republican majority in 2001 with a "sunset" clause that said that if they are extended past 10 years that they MUST be paid for, adding $700 BILLION to the deficit.
Let's see if I have this straight... No to extending unemployment benefits for 2 million or more people (approximately 1 percent of the population) struggling to feed and house themselves that would cost $18 billion, but yes to tax cuts for people who make over $250,000 and who don't need them (also approximately 1 percent of the population) that would cost $700 billion. You would have to be a complete moron or a Republican not to see the insanity in this.
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