On the recordJanuary 15, 2014
As we meet, 1.5 million Americans are out in the cold, long-term unemployed, and added to that total 72,000 each week, an estimated, if we don't act, 3.6 million by the end of this year. Why is this? Partly because of myths, and I want to address them. Myth one: the need for these benefits is over. The truth, nearly 38 percent of the jobless are long-term unemployed, twice the rate when the emergency program started. The highest ever recorded before this recession was 26 percent of the unemployed were long-term. Myth two: unemployment insurance creates dependency. As Senator Rand Paul claimed, it is a ``disservice.'' The long-term unemployed in these eyes need to get off their duffs. It is this Congress that needs to get off its duff because the overwhelming research rebuts this notion. Indeed, unemployment insurance helps people look for work. People have said, we need gas money to go and look for a job. Recipients must actively look for work under the rules within their States. By the way, the average benefit is $300 a week. Myth three: jobs are there. Get off your couch, it said, look. Wal-Mart came to D.C., had 600 jobs available; 23,000 people applied. A dairy in Hagerstown, Maryland, reopened; 36 jobs were available; 1,600 job applications. There are still 1 million fewer jobs today than when the recession began in 2007. Myth four: North Carolina shows if you end unemployment insurance, the unemployment rate goes down because people go to work.…
