Progressives Blast GOP Calls to End $300 Weekly Unemployment: 'Greed Has No Bounds'

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Progressive lawmakers pushed back hard after some Republicans and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called for ending extra $300 weekly unemployment payments to jobless workers amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

GOP lawmakers and the Chamber of Congress, a pro-business lobby group that generally backs Republican candidates, blamed extra federal unemployment payments approved by Congress in the American Rescue Plan for the significantly less than expected job growth in April. The Department of Labor released the April jobs report on Friday, showing that the economy added just 266,000 jobs last month despite predictions that it would be closer to 1 million.

But progressives and officials from President Joe Biden's administration were quick to push back against the calls for ending the extra payments, as millions of workers remain unemployed.

"Providing an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits to low-income families living in desperation is not radical. What's radical is that 719 billionaires became $1.6 trillion richer during the pandemic while the $7.25 federal minimum wage has not been increased in 12 years," Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent and prominent progressive, tweeted on Saturday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/progressives-blast-gop-calls-to-end-300-weekly-unemployment-greed-has-no-bounds/ar-BB1gvTcN

[uponit7771]

1. K&R, ... and there'll be enough of MAGA dumb asses wanting to end the 300 payment too

[WHITT]

2. Their RightWing Theory Got Blown Up

(MarketWatch) - The biggest increase in hiring (331,000) in April occurred precisely in lower-paid positions at restaurants, hotels, parks, theaters and the like.

OOPS!

That's the opposite of what one would expect if people not taking jobs because they were collecting more on unemployment.

[Hekate]

3. Sometimes I wonder if the cruelty is the point

See this
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15412760

[Baked Potato]

4. They're not fooling anyone. Pay more than unemployment,

offer incentives and benefits, compete for the labor.

Oh, can’t do *that* though. Mustn’t let the workforce know they are worth anything.

[Claustrum]

5. I understand the reasoning behind republican wanting to end it is evil.

And what I am about to say is probably very unpopular around here. But doesn't unemployment have to end some time?

I fully supported extending unemployment till now because we didn't have vaccine or enough vaccines to get everyone vaccinated. So I wanted the unemployment extended so people can stay home. But at some point, it has to end and we get people back to work. Unemployment was never meant to be permanent or a way to force business to raise their salary for workers. It seems like we are very close to having enough vaccine for anyone who wants one. So isn't it about time to start thinking about ending the program?

I don't think we should end it immediately so people can start thinking and looking for a job before the program ends. And we give enough time for them to find a job before unemployment ends. But we have to start letting them know that the program will end soon.

PS. I don't think the slave wages is right. I just don't think offering extra unemployment benefit is the way to fix it.

[Progressive Jones]

7. There's nothing permanent" about this extension. An end is written into the act.

Not everything has "opened up" yet. This is all just whining from the GOP and the USCC. That's what they do.

[Blue Owl]

6. Thanks Bernie for keeping it in perspective!