Layoffs

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009

hmoroz — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:27:18 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of Americans unemployed for six months or more: 5.4 million

Percentage of unemployed workers who cannot find jobs within receiving their first six months of unemployment benefits: 50.7

Number of unemployed workers who will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits by the end of 2009: 1.3 million

Average number of unemployed workers losing their unemployment insurance benefits each day in the absence of an extension of benefits: 7,000

Number of jobless workers for every job opening in the United States at the beginning of the recession: 1.7

Number of jobless workers for every job opening in the United States at present: 6

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. While economists see signs of economic recovery, 15.1 million unemployed Americans still cannot find work. The unemployment rate continues to rise and now stands at 9.8%. Recent extensions of the duration of unemployment benefits have been necessary but insufficient: 400,000 unemployed workers exhausted their benefits at the end of September, a number that will increase to a devastating 1.3 million by the end of the year. Middle-class Americans thrown out of work cannot be allowed to lose their unemployment lifeline at a time when there are six workers for every available job.

The Unemployment Compensation Extension Act would ease the financial pain associated with long-term unemployment. Unemployment benefits provide direct assistance to the current and aspiring middle-class Americans likely to be hardest hit during the economic downturn, people who want to work but have lost their means of support through no fault of their own. With extended benefits, many families can stay in their homes, keep the lights on, and put food on the table. Unlike the House version of the legislation, the bill would protect all workers from running out of benefits while providing additional protection to the most vulnerable in the worst-hit states- places like Michigan.

In addition to the benefit to individual households, unemployment insurance provides significant economic stimulus. The unemployed tend to spend all of their benefits and quickly, providing an important economic jolt. Allowing unemployment benefits to expire for hundreds of thousands of families would undermine the successes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and slow the nation’s economic recovery.

In contrast, extending the tax credit for first-time homebuyers and, particularly, expanding the credit to wealthier households and to current homeowners would do little to stimulate additional economic activity. The credit, included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has primarily benefited households which would have purchased a home even without the tax benefit. This means that the credit is poorly targeted and an inefficient use of government funds at a time of increasing concern about budget deficits. It also continues the federal government’s subsidization of homeownership, which helped cause the housing crisis. The carryback loss provision is a also a poorly targeted provision, receiving a “C” in the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center’s analysis of the stimulative effect of tax measures. Aid to state and local governments, along with legislation that targets aid to those suffering most from the economic downturn, would be a much more efficient use of federal funds.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do We Go From Here?” from the Senate Finance Committee

“Unemployment Insurance,” from the National Employment Law Project

“Harsh Labor Market Conditions Justify Extending Unemployment Benefits In Hard-Hit States,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009

hmoroz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:52:31 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Senate Version of the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act of 2008

hmoroz — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:47:37 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Estimated jobs lost if General Motors alone collapsed: 914,000

Estimated jobs lost if the U.S. motor-vehicle assembly complex collapsed: 3.3 million

Increase in the number of unemployed persons since the beginning of the recession in December 2007: 2.7 million

Minimum percentage increase in the unemployment rate in the 10 states hit hardest by a total motor-vehicle assembly shutdown: 2.8

Three-year government tax loss if all of Detroit’s operations ceased, in dollars: 156.4 billion

Number of states that would experience job losses of at least 1,000 if General Motors alone collapsed: 50

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports.
The automobile industry is a critical component of the American economy. Motor vehicle and parts industries employed over 700,000 people directly as of September and each job in the auto industry supports about 1.7 additional jobs in industries as diverse as textiles and retail. Auto industry workers with solid wages create jobs in their local economies with their spending. More importantly, the jobs in and supported by the auto industry are solid middle-class jobs that tend to provide health insurance and employment stability. At a time of economic recession when job losses are already steep, the middle class cannot afford to lose hundreds of thousands of well paying jobs.

Indeed, a failure of one or, significantly worse, of all three American automakers would seriously harm the middle class. The Economic Policy Institute predicts that over 900,000 jobs would disappear if GM collapsed, while a worst-case-scenario shutdown of the entire U.S. auto industry would eliminate 3.3 million jobs. Though this scenario is worst case and some jobs would eventually reappear as the industry reconstituted itself, the short-term damage to the American middle class would be severe. Unemployment would rise several percentage points in the hardest hit states and every state would experience job losses. Increased unemployment benefit payments, significant tax revenue losses, and government assumption of pension obligations are all additional outcomes that could result from an automaker’s failure.

The legislation will prevent the short-term failure of the automobile industry in the United States and makes a leaner, more energy-efficient Detroit plausible. An auto czar cannot make the Big Three automakers profitable. But the czar’s influence – backed up by the capacity to speed loan repayment and impose bankruptcy – and the thorough restructuring guidelines laid out by Congress can ensure that the American automakers do not once again fail to confront environmental concerns and recalcitrant management. Most experts agree that bankruptcy in the current liquidity crisis would be devastating to the auto manufacturers: already weak sales would be exacerbated by consumers frightened to buy from a bankrupt manufacturer, while lending institutions normally accessible to bankrupt companies would be unavailable. The Auto Industry Refinancing and Restructuring Act imposes reasonable restructuring requirements, while ensuring that solid middle-class jobs are preserved in a period of deep economic crisis.

The Senate version’s addition of heavy-handed requirements for reduction of labor costs is unjustified and even reckless. We fear that the inclusion of such requirements is no more than an attempt by conservatives to blame management’s poor judgment on middle-class workers making decent wages and earning decent benefits. Further, imposing such requirements prior to restructuring limits what negotiations between a car czar, the UAW, and the automakers can accomplish. While they bemoan business decisions being made in Washington, some conservatives evidently are confident enough in their business savvy to decide the appropriate level of autoworkers’ wages. Still, preservation of millions of jobs in the auto industry makes support for the Auto Industry Refinancing and Restructuring Act absolutely necessary.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“When Giants Fall,” from the Economic Policy Institute

“Better Than A Bailout,” from The New Republic

“Panic in Detroit,” from The New Republic

Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act of 2008

hmoroz — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:44:49 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Estimated jobs lost if General Motors alone collapsed: 914,000

Estimated jobs lost if the U.S. motor-vehicle assembly complex collapsed: 3.3 million

Increase in the number of unemployed persons since the beginning of the recession in December 2007: 2.7 million

Minimum percentage increase in the unemployment rate in the 10 states hit hardest by a total motor-vehicle assembly shutdown: 2.8

Three-year government tax loss if all of Detroit’s operations ceased, in dollars: 156.4 billion

Number of states that would experience job losses of at least 1,000 if General Motors alone collapsed: 50

Layoffs

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Senate Version of the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources