Extend benefits for jobless

By Amy Logsdon

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Even a quick trip to the grocery store reveals that we have gone directly from election season to the holiday season. And for the thousands of Iowans who have lost their jobs since June - those slated to loose unemployment benefits unless Congress acts to extend them past 27 weeks before the end of November - it will be a gloomy Christmas this year.

The nonpartisan National Employment Law Project (NELP) estimates that 2 million Americans, including more than 8,000 people in Iowa, will lose unemployment benefits by early December if no extension is forthcoming.

Economists tell us that extending the benefit makes sound fiscal sense. It provides additional stimulus to the economy. It is also true that our nation's retailers stand to lose considerably this holiday season should the benefits expire and further cut holiday budgets. Yet the most compelling reason Congress must act swiftly has to do with my friend Bob.

Bob is the breadwinner for his family of five. He's been working in a decent-paying skilled trade for many years. His family was able to afford to move out of the home they had been renting and buy a fixer-upper a few years back. He and his wife planned to live in it into retirement and, after it was paid off, that the equity would be a safety net for expenses that come with old age.

But my friend was laid off early last summer, and he's not finding work to support his family.

The unemployment pay is no “hammock” that stunts his ambition. It is just barely sufficient to cover the mortgage every month. All the other costs have been born out of savings and with credit when that was gone. Of course they are cutting back and tightening their belts. But they have cut their budget to the bone and used all their savings.

If my friend does not find a job soon, and if Congress does not act, he and his family will lose their house, their credit rating, their dreams and their peace of mind.

Americans need bold action to create good jobs here at home. But whatever the long-term solution is, I know it will not come quickly enough to get my friend and others back to work before the end of December.

Extending the benefit for only two months and passes the problem on to the new Congress is no solution. We must be sure that unemployed families can hold on longer than just until Christmas morning.

This is not about Democrats or Republicans; this is about coming together to help millions of unemployed Americans get through the worst economy since the Great Depression. Congress has to do what's right.

Amy Logsdon is Political Director, Iowa Citizen Action Network. Comments: alogsdon@iowacan.org