Republicans to Unemployed: ‘Get a Job!’

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2010/06/21/republicans-to-unemployed-get-a-job/

by Mike Hall, Jun 21, 2010

As part of Republican obstruction-at-any-cost election year strategy, Senate Republicans last week once again blocked an extension of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for long-term jobless workers. The UI extension is part of the jobs bill that could help put the unemployed back to work.

Some Republicans even said it’s time for ”tough love” to motivate the long-term jobless.



Granted, they are far removed from the day-to-day economic reality of America’s workers. So here’s a reminder: Today, in the United States, there are five unemployed workers for every job opening, an unemployment rate near 10 percent, at least 15 million people out of work and 6.8 million people out of work for 27 weeks or more. Getting a job is not like going down to the corner for a quart of milk.

Heck, when you still get your taxpayer-funded, congressional paycheck every week ($3,346.15) for not doing very much work, it can certainly alter your view of the economy—even to the point where some Republican politicos actually claim the not quite $300 a week average unemployment check is a “disincentive” for the unemployed to get out of the door and look for work.

Maybe senators think that when the men and women who have been out of work since at least before Thanksgiving (and millions for more than one year) get that bountiful UI check, they sit around the kitchen table and make big plans to spend that dough.

Hey, hon got my check. This sure beats working. What do you say we go to Palm Springs this weekend? We can fly the kids to your mom’s and board the dogs at that new spa kennel.

FULL story and video at link.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. 2d message from Republicans to Unemployed

"Not our fault. Blame Obama and the Democrats."

[handmade34]

2. time for job creation

there is a lot of work to be done in this country... 1st- get the Republicans out of office and then clean up the rest of the mess they have made

get people working on alternative energy projects, building homes for the homeless, growing healthy food for the hungry

tough love means forcing the republicans to confront reality.

ugh!

[lonestarnot]

14. PigliCONs oppose that too.

:eyes:

[GoCubsGo]

3. "Tough love" to motivate the jobless...

There are, at minimum, five unemployed people for every available job opening. Are they hoping the unemployed will fight each other to the death for those jobs? What fucking planet do these scumbags live on?

[Brewman_Jax]

4. Tough love? WTF?

What do they want? A cage match for all job openings? :scared: Stuff like this makes me wonder why any relatively sane individual would vote repub. :(

[EOTE]

5. It's just like a say to homeless people.

Hey, why don't you try NOT being homeless for a change? Jesus, you'd think that these people don't have the bootstraps to pick themselves up by.

[raccoon]

6. I like the way these guys said it better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hkJL6wRBE8

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

7. With unemployment at the levels it's at, they have just pissed off about

15% of the electorate if not more.

The Dems should be able to coast on this if it really is about the economy stupid.

The Gulf Coast should hate them for taking BP's side in trying to derail prompt compensation for damages and basically telling those harmed - "So sue them!" and wait twenty years for watered down compensation as in the Exxon Valdez.

I detect just a slight note of self-awareness in Limbaugh lately that he is on the wrong side of literally every single issue.

[90-percent]

8. Rachel Thursday Night

She totally NAILED these heartless bastards. Clips of people like Orin Hatch advocating for drug testing the unemployed and that despicable Sharon Angle talking about all the loafers getting on unemployment because it's so fucking good.

I hope that segment finds it's way to DU. IT WAS BRILLIANT AND AN INSTANT CLASSIC. I hope it goes viral and all that. The only thing good about cutting off additional unemployment benefits to the long term unemployed is that it allows all the haves and conservative pols to be really really mean to their fellow human beings, that are largely out of work because of the conservatives prior work to serve the already really rich at the expense of the rest of us i.e. - The Wall Street and Bank bailouts.

-90% jimmy

[90-percent]

18. here's the aforementioned Rachel clip!!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=479116&mesg_id=479116

There are people in our midst that elected these fucking monsters!

-90% Jimmy

[treestar]

9. Like going out for a quart of milk

Exactly. Rs close their ears to the concept of unemployment being due to a lack of jobs.

[phasma ex machina]

10. What exactly do the powers-that-be expect poor people to do? Go away and quietly die out-of-sight,

out-of-mind? Trillions for banksters but not one thin cent for poor people?

[Subdivisions]

12. In a word, YES! That is EXACTLY what they want you to do. n/t

[anarch]

11. Republicans to all the "small people": "Fuck you."

Actually I guess that's their message to pretty much everybody except the right wing elite. I don't get it. I don't understand how these fuckers get any votes at all from anyone but the rich. It must be all the brainwashing....

[lonestarnot]

13. The pigliCON way. Vote pigliCON working people and this is what you get.

[Subdivisions]

15. My wingnut BIL: 'Good! It's time they got off their lazy, freeloading asses

and got back to work!"

This is the BIL that's been living off his wife's paycheck for 9 our of 10 years.

[Jkid]

17. If the US will still have a high employment rate for a long time maybe it's time to figure...

...out how to maintain the unemployed people until they can get jobs.

Universal Social Security/Citizen's Income anyone?

Oh wait, they have them die instead of preventing homelessness.

Then again, how did they got their congressional jobs so easy?

[spinbaby]

16. Our local wingnut claims they're all working

He claims all the unemployed are working "off the books" and are thus double dipping and not entitled to unemployment insurance. He bases this on something he heard about a guy who painted a house for someone while he was on unemployment.

[Omaha Steve]

19. Kick