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Thursday, December 02, 2010

Hey America...YOU voted for these guys.
Posted by Jill | 5:25 AM
HuffPo lists the 10 states that will be hammered the hardest by a lapse in unemployment benefits. With the exception of New York and California, the other states all elected teabaggers in last month's election. I'm only covering governorships and Senate seats, there are too many Congresscritters to cover individually:

10 - Indiana: The "throw out the insiders" bunch just elected Dan Coats, "the consummate insider, a six-figure-income lobbyist with "only second homes" in Maryland and North Carolina." to the Senate. He's on record from BEFORE the election as opposiing an extension to unemployment benefits. Coats replaces Evan Bayh, a loathsome corporate Blue Dog who would no doubt have voted with the Republicans anyway. It's a wash, but Coats' opponent, Brad Ellsworth, just voted FOR H R 6419 - the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act.

9 - Ohio just elected John Kasich (killer of a job-creating rail project) to be their governor over incumbent Ted Strickland, and kept incumbent Republican Rob Portman in the Senate. Portman buys into the Republican "Give Rich People Enough Tax Cuts and Let Them Do Whatever They Want And They'll Create Jobs Even If No One Has Money To Buy What They Make doctrine, but at least he favors allowing states with high unemployment rates to access additional funding without Congressional action -- an odd stance for the Teabaggers' choice.

8 - Georgia just elected as Governor Nathan Deal, a guy who had to resign his Congressional seat back in March 2010 after:
...the Office of Congressional Ethics released its report anyway, concluding that Mr. Deal appeared to have improperly used his office to pressure Georgia officials to continue a vehicle inspection program that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for his family’s auto salvage business.

He got 53% of the vote. Perhaps Georgians without jobs believe that if they Just Work Hard Enough, they too can go to Congress and strongarm state officials into enacting programs that will allow them to stuff their pockets. The throw-the-bums-out sentiment didn't apply in the state's Senate Race either, where incumbent Republican Johnny Isakson won 53.8% of the vote. In June 2010, Senator Isakson had to apologize for referring to the unemployed as "unwashed." In July he voted again against an extension of unemployment benefits. He is, however, going full-bore now on an extension of tax cuts for the top 1%.

7) Michigan's new governor is Rick Snyder, who is going to Washington this week but refuses to say if he will ask for an extension of unemployment benefits for his long-beleaguered state. Over 180,000 Michigan residents will run out of benefits in the next five months. Neither of the state's Senators was up for election.

6) Florida took a turn to the Very Hard right, electing health care fraudster Rick Scott as governor and teabagger favorite Marco Rubio to the Senate. Without a previous record of votes, we can't tell for sure what Rubio will do, but in July he said he would stand with Republicans in opposing any extension to unemployment benefits -- but of course he favors tax cuts for the wealthy:
"At some point someone has to draw a line in the sand and say we are serious about not growing debt," Rubio said.

However, when it comes to offsetting the costs of an extension of the Bush Tax Cuts that Rubio wants made permanent, his campaign couldn't give an answer to CBS4.com's Tim Kephart.

Meanwhile, governor-elect Rick Scott is planning a lavish inaugural celebration for which he's seeking donations of up to $25,000. The more you pay, the more access to him you get. If you like trickle-down economics, you'll LOVE Florida under Rick Scott.

5) Illinois' new senator is Mark Kirk, who only seems moderate when compared to the extremists who now dominate the Republican Party. But on extending tax cuts for the top 1%, these don't have to be offset by spending cuts...whereas unemployment benefits extensions require offsets:




4) We usually think of Texas as having weathered the economic crisis relatively unscathed. with a comparatively "low" unemployment rate of 8.2%. But with 127,900 losing benefits before December 31, it remains to be seen whether relatively robust job creation will offset this. Texas didn't have a Senate election this year, but Texas is represented in the Senate by John Cornyn and Ron Paul. In July, Cornyn blamed Democrats for a failure to extend unemployment benefits. Like other Republicans who believe that the revenue reductions from tax cuts for the wealthy don't need to be offset with spending cuts but that unemployment benefits do, Cornyn wanted drastic spending cuts and tax cuts in return. We already know about Ron Paul's views on anything government does.

3) Pennsylvania: This is a state that could have elected Joe Sestak to the Senate, but instead chose to send über-wingnut Pat Toomey. In July, Toomey said that any unemployment benefits extension must be offset with spending cuts. Toomey favors ending ALL capital gains and corporate taxes. This means that even if "rich people" "created jobs", the wages of said jobs would pay the entire national tax burden, while those whose income comes from investments while they sip margaritas in the Caymans would pay none.

The top two spots are occupied by New York and California, which at least had the good sense to eschew the insane Carl Paladino and the greedy, too-cheap-to-hire-a-housekeeper-she-couldn't exploit Meg Whitman.

So there you have it. The states with the most people at risk of being cast out without a penny are states that voted in these lunatics. I'd be tempted to shrug my shoulders and say "You get what you pay for", except that 30-49% of the people in these states DIDN'T vote against their own interests. And they will be swept in the street right along with the idiots.

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6 Comments:
Blogger Serr8d said...
Seems like you should expand on New York and California. Why are those two Democrat-forever States not leading the way? Democrats obviously failed in those states. California is poised to completely bankrupt; New York can't be far behind.

Why are these two States not exemplar? Why are largely Democrat-controlled States so far in the red, light-years past the rest of the states?

I know why! Because Progressivism, non-Classical neo-Liberalism, YOUR ideological mindset in politics, is doomed to fail. TANSTAAFL. Read it and weep.
12/2/10, 7:58 AM  
Blogger PurpleGirl said...
It's nice that they included New York on the list. However, NYS's benefits only went through to Tier 3. People have have been losing benefits through the spring. And theoretically, NYS's unemployment rate went down .2 of a percent which also keeps people from getting further benefits.
12/2/10, 8:37 AM  
Anonymous Brian S said...
Good post, but Ron Paul isn't in the Senate. It's Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, I believe.
12/2/10, 12:52 PM  
Blogger Chris77 said...
Unemployment compensation is good business because we spend all the money, stimulate the economy and create jobs unlike the top 5% who save much and splurge on lavish lifestyles and a life of privelege. They RULE the USA, don't you get it?
I am an unemployed teacher, college, Indian Rez. and I need about 4 more months to get my 3 part-time jobs started so I can live, and I am 63 and on social security and have a Masters Degree. Prior to 1980 the highest tax rates were from 50%-90% so a raise to 38% is a piece of cake and a morally right thing to do-it will cost the USA $700 billion a year in more deficit to give the wealthy this tax break. This country's value system is going downhill. The USA was founded on Liberalsim and equity by Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin, it is now heading to a ruling REpublican elite. Join the good guys, the liberals!
12/2/10, 4:01 PM  
Blogger Chris77 said...
Unemployment comp is good business-we spend all the money unlike the rich who save or indulge themselves. I need more time to get a college teaching job-the Repubs and some of you are just plain cruel and immoral-this country was founded on liberalsim and equity by Thomas Jefferson, G Washington, and Ben Franklin to subdue the rich from controlling everything. From 1950-1980 the USA top tax rates were from 50%-90% so those crybabies about going back to 38%, I am sooo sorry about them.
12/2/10, 4:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
they voted against ablack president and his policies. forgot how the repulicans under bush almost ruined this country...now pay for it...look at the demographics on the vote....
12/7/10, 3:56 PM  
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