no third solution » Employment & Labor
Congress Likely to Extend Jobless Benefits to 99 Weeks
Congress is adding a TRILLION dollars to the deficit every year. A freaking TRILLION dollars. The Democrats of course can’t find a single item in $4 Trillion worth of Federal Budget to cut in favor of extending jobless benefits, and as should be expected, the Republicans are vile creatures because they don’t want Uncle Sam to pay unemployment benefits for nearly two full years. A measure restoring jobless benefits of up to 99 weeks for people struggling to find work after months of unemployment is expected to rebound from a temporary setback in the Senate. …Republicans were seeking to force Congress to pay for its $18 billion cost and not add to budget deficits topping $1 trillion. But George Voinovich, R-Ohio, broke with his party to vote with Democrats to … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Politics, Employment & Labor
Health Care Reform Rains on Ski Resorts
There’s going to be a lot of fallout from the health care “reform” that’s recently been forced upon America. For starters, certain plans (i.e., high deductible or catastrophic plans) will be de jure illegal — even though most people who buy these plans do so with eyes wide open and with the financial wherewithal to deal with all but the most catastrophic perils. And it’s going to cause a lot of disruptions for a lot of industries, who are already spending millions of dollars on lobbyists (to fight the laws), lawyers (to analyze and make recommendations) and consultants (for advice on how to deal with the changes). The snow sports/resorts industry hasn’t been spared, either, according to Vail Daily: New federal health care reform could cost Vail Resorts and other ski … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Politics, Economic Theory, Employment & Labor, Health Care
Political Power, Government Employees and Inequality
Christopher George responded to my semi-recent post about government employees being overpaid. He argues that not every government job is a “complete waste” and notes (astutely, I might add) that the “‘private’ economy isn’t all that productive either.” OK, fine. But if they want to be productive in a free market, let them be productive in a free market. On the basis of their own supposition they don’t get a free pass to just sit back and say “Well, I suspect that my occupation would exist in a free market, so my hands are clean!” Chris says I’m engaging in unnecessary class conflict when I call them leeches. I don’t know how else to accurately describe the vast majority of “public” employees whose occupations wouldn’t exist without the government’s interference, and … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Politics, Blog Reactions, Employment & Labor