Obama Hearts Unemployment

 

shutterstock_226044718Two items, the first from last June, from Roll Call:

President Barack Obama attacked Republicans Friday for failing to pass an unemployment extension — or anything else on his agenda — while voting for a tax cut for the wealthy… “They’ve said no to extending unemployment insurance for more than three million Americans who are out there looking every single day for a new job, despite the fact that we know it would be good not just for those families who are working hard to try to get back on their feet, but for the economy as a whole,” Obama said during a campaign-style speech on the economy in Minneapolis. “Rather than invest in working families getting ahead, they actually voted to give another massive tax cut to the wealthiest Americans.”

And this from USAToday, from last March:

Almost 2 million Americans who have been out of work for longer than six months have missed out on extended unemployment benefits since Congress allowed the program to expire in December, according to a new analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data.

In seven states, at least 100,000 unemployed workers have missed out on unemployment benefits they would have otherwise received, according to the analysis from the National Employment Law Project, a group that advocates for workers and has lobbied for an extension of the benefits…

The White House and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are interested in reinstating the benefits. Four Republicans joined Senate Democrats last month to almost pass an extension, and House Speaker John Boehner has said he’s open to an extension, provided the cost is offset with other budget cuts. But so far, disputes over how to pay for continuing the measure and how long to extend the benefits have derailed any deals.

And thank God they did. Because here’s what we learned today: the extended benefits actually hurt employment, and letting them expire fueled job growth. Surprised? Probably not, if you’re a Ricochet member. But in case you aren’t, here’s a summary from Marginal Revolution:

There is a new NBER Working Paper on this topic by Hagedorn, Manovskii, and Mitman, showing (once again) that most supply curves slope upward, here is one key part from the abstract:

In levels, 1.8 million additional jobs were created in 2014 due to the benefit cut. Almost 1 million of these jobs were filled by workers from out of the labor force who would not have participated in the labor market had benefit extensions been reauthorized.

There is an ungated copy here (pdf).  Like the sequester, this is another area where the Keynesian analysts simply have not proven a good guide to understanding recent macroeconomic events.

Once again: sometimes help isn’t very helpful.

 

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  1. The King Prawn Inactive
    The King Prawn
    @TheKingPrawn

    The president apparently has no idea how little actual effort it takes to “look for work” while on unemployment. If I remember correctly, a couple of online applications a week to positions one would never qualify for is enough to keep the gubmint check coming.

    • #1
  2. Spin Inactive
    Spin
    @Spin

    The King Prawn: The president apparently has no idea how little actual effort it takes to “look for work” while on unemployment.

    And they aren’t “out there”.  They are sitting on their computer posting their poorly written resume to job sites.  Don’t get me wrong, the information age is great, but people don’t “pound the pavement” looking for work anymore.

    • #2
  3. user_86050 Inactive
    user_86050
    @KCMulville

    In Star Trek, it was a common plot device for the crew to be doing everything they were trained to do, according to the “proper” tactics … only these “proper” tactics would keep making things worse. So the writers would solve the problem by having Captain Kirk order everyone to do the exact opposite of “proper” tactics. He would order the ship to go in reverse instead of forward. He would use anti-matter instead of matter. If the “proper” tactics were backfiring, might as well try the opposite.

    Liberalism is like a bad Star Trek plot. From global warming, to oil drilling, to unemployment benefits … following their “proper” tactics keeps making things worse. And we’re discovering that doing exactly the opposite of what they recommend is working out splendidly.

    Captain Kirk, you’re wanted on the bridge! Calling Captain Kirk!

    • #3
  4. Z in MT Member
    Z in MT
    @ZinMT

    The problem is that most of the elite in Liberal ciecles actually like their jobs, and they can’t imagine why a person would rather sit on their butt at home watching daytime television than work a boring office job or back breaking physical labor.

    • #4
  5. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Democrats love the poor.

    That’s why they’ve created so many of them.

    (It’s a very old joke.)

    • #5
  6. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Misthiocracy:Democrats love the poor.

    That’s why they’ve created so many of them.

    Old, but still worthy.

    • #6
  7. user_278007 Inactive
    user_278007
    @RichardFulmer

    Obama hearts Obama and wants Americans to heart Obama.  Therefore, Obama must be seen as caring about the unemployed.

    Obama rejects policies that might actually help the unemployed if they don’t also allow him to look good while supporting them (i.e., policies that go beyond what Thomas Sowell describes as “stage one thinking” and that require actual, you know, thought to understand).

    • #7
  8. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Rob Long: Once again: sometimes help isn’t very helpful.

    Progressivism in one sentence.

    • #8
  9. user_8847 Inactive
    user_8847
    @FordPenney

    To carry forward KC Mulville’s Star Trek analogy I think the example with this particular individual is to quote Mr Spock:

    “He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking.’

    Mr Obama is possibly the best example of the 20th century atavistic socialist and as such has all the answers in the universe he inhabits. The problem is the world today is truly a 3 dimensional plane where all the pieces interact on a daily basis. In this world you need to not just ‘think outside the box’, you need to live outside the box and be comfortable in this context.

    This president is most clearly uncomfortable when the real world narrative veers off, and then his team spends all its time reconstructing the narrative to fit his 2 dimensional universe.

    Good progressive socialists believe the world is complex therefore intelligence is all you need… but without experience you are just another character in a space opera.

    • #9
  10. user_1030767 Inactive
    user_1030767
    @TheQuestion

    The King Prawn: The president apparently has no idea how little actual effort it takes to “look for work” while on unemployment. If I remember correctly, a couple of online applications a week to positions one would never qualify for is enough to keep the gubmint check coming.

    That was my experience.  When I was unemployed, I had a writer’s block composing cover letters for jobs that I actually wanted, or thought I might get.  To meet my unemployment requirements so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it, I would fire off three online applications for jobs that I didn’t expect to get, using a generic cover letter, within twenty minutes.  Then I would get to work on applying for jobs I thought I might get.

    Another thing about unemployment: I was working as a part-time adjunct faculty while unemployed.  I reported my wages which were subtracted from my unemployment benefits, so most or time I didn’t collect that much.  I did collect full benefits during the winter break when I wasn’t teaching.  Then I was told that being a part-time adjunct counts as being a teacher, and teachers aren’t eligible to collect unemployment during breaks.  To collect unemployment, I had to be employed in my part-time adjunct job.  When I was actually not working and not earning wages, I was ineligible for unemployment.

    During the spring, I collected enough unemployment benefits to pay the government back for the benefits I had incorrectly received during the winter break.  After that I quit taking unemployment.  I was trying to work as much as possible to earn my keep as much as possible, and unemployment just got in the way.

    • #10
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