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New York Unemployment Extensions – 13 More Weeks Of Extended Benefits?

Please note the comments are closed on this post because of technical difficulties. The discussion has been moved to this post.

[update on May 12  New York extends unemployment by 13 weeks]
[update on May 19 – Unemployment bill to extend EB by 13 weeks has been passed by legislature].

The state of New York has been hit pretty hard by the current economic climate and unemployment levels have been rising.  As a result of these  high unemployment rates New York state has qualified for unemployment benefit extensions which were introduced as part of the 2009 stimulus package.

Unemployment benefits currently available in New York

At the moment there are a total of 59 weeks of unemployment available to New Yorkers:

  • 26 weeks – These are the regular unemployment benefits which are available regardless of the economy.
  • 33 weeks – This is Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) which is made up of a 20 week segment followed by a 13 week segment.  Emergency benefits will be paid by the same method as the regular benefits (direct deposit or check).

Will there be another 13 weeks of extended benefits?

The state government including Gov. David A. Paterson, is currently working on this extension which would involve about $645 million of federal money along with state money for funding.  The reason for the delay is that New York, along with several other states have laws which need changing in order to accept the federal funding.  If the legislation is passed it will provide an additional 13 weeks of benefits to approximately 120,000 New Yorkers for a total of 72 weeks of unemployment benefits.

429 replies on “New York Unemployment Extensions – 13 More Weeks Of Extended Benefits?”

Jan:

Thanks for posting the time of the meeting – I will be watching the proceedings –

To all:

RIP Patrick Swayze! I hope one day soon there will be a cure for this devil disease and that people will not have to suffer like he and so many others have.

Jan:

Thanks for the link regarding the meeting – I hope people come back to this forum to share info. Both are good, but this one seems easier to navigate.

To those who have lost anybody to cancer:

RIP Patrick Swayze – May there soon be a cure for the killer disease that has taken so many people from this world. People should not have to suffer like that – He was a good actor and seemed to be a really decent human being.

LAURIE…MY AUNT DIED FROM THAT HORRID DISEASE…PATRICK SWAYZE IS IN HEAVEN DANCING WITH THE ANGELS NOW….HE WILL BE MISSES…. ON TO OTHER TOPICS….IM GONNA WATCH TODAY AT TEN ALSO…IF YOU HAVE TIME WARNER CABLE THE SENATE IS ON CHANNEL148 AND THE HOUSE IS ON 149 STARTS AT TEN AM! …OH…AND IF YOU GOOGLE S.1647 THERE ARE LOTS OF MESSAGE BOARDS AND PEOPLE ARE ALL SAYING WHAT WE ARE SAYING….ITS THE 8.5 PERCENT BILL…AND ACTUALLY IT SHOULD BE LIKE BEFORE 8 PERCENT SO MORE PEOPLE CAN COLLECT. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE…LETS HAVE A GROUP PRAYER…..GOD HELP US GET THIS EXTENSION AND FAST!

Senate Finance (10 a.m.): Hearings to examine unemployment insurance benefits…TODAY ON THE SCHEDULE FROM THE WASHINGTON POST .I HOPE THEY TELEVISE IT! CUZ IM GONNA WATCH!

In response to direct calls for help by Americans from across the country, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced new streamlined legislation today, HR 3548, to extend unemployment insurance benefits for an additional 13 weeks in states where unemployment has averaged at least 8.5% over the last three months.

Rep. McDermott, chairman of the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the nation?s unemployment insurance system, took the unusual step of introducing a streamlined version of more comprehensive legislation already filed after hearing from hundreds of ordinary Americans who called McDermott to say they have exhausted all their savings, their UI benefits are about to run out, and they face financial disaster unless government continues to provide a helping hand.

?Decent, hard-working Americans from North Carolina to California have been calling my office to tell me they still cannot find work after a year or more after becoming unemployed and they need some additional help to keep their heads above water,? McDermott said. ?I?m unwilling to stand by and do nothing when Americans from all walks of life face an economy where 6 unemployed workers are competing for every one job.?

According to McDermott, there are signs the economy is beginning to move in the right direction, but the exhaustion rate on UI benefits will affect an estimated 400,000 Americans this month alone and grow to over a million by the end of the year.

With a deadline looming on the modest economic lifeline UI provides Americans, Rep. McDermott decided to introduce streamlined legislation today in hopes of faster action by Congress. The remaining elements of the comprehensive legislation introduced in July will be re-introduced in the near future as a separate bill.

?The comprehensive bill that looks at extending provisions through the end of next year will require more time to debate but too many Americans are quickly running out of time on their benefits and I believe the time to act on extending benefits is now,? McDermott said.

An overview of the major provisions follows.

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009
Introduced by Representative Jim McDermott

The legislation would extend unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks for over 300,000 jobless workers who reside in high unemployment States (8.5% unemployment) and who are projected to run out of unemployment compensation by the end of September (and for over one million workers otherwise exhausting benefits before the end of the year).

These benefits will help workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own buy necessities for their families (increasing consumer demand), as well as continue their mortgage payments (reducing foreclosures).

Several indicators show the economy is slowly improving, but there are still nearly six unemployed Americans for every available job and long-term unemployment is at an historically high level – one-third of the unemployed, (5 million Americans) have been without work for longer than six months.

This legislation would NOT add to the deficit because its cost would be completely offset by two provisions. First, it extends for one year a federal unemployment tax (FUTA surtax) that has been in place for over 30 years and which President Bush proposed extending in his last budget (the tax costs employers $14 per year, per employee). And second, it requires that current reporting on newly hired employees include the date work started to reduce UI overpayments (as proposed by both Bush and Obama budgets).

Over three-quarters of the workers projected to exhaust their unemployment benefits by September live in high unemployment States that would now qualify for an additional 13 weeks of benefits under the bill. These high unemployment States are: AL, AZ, CA, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MI, MS, MO, NV, NJ, NC, NY, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, WA, WI & WV.

Additional unemployed workers outside of these high-unemployment States also may qualify for more weeks of benefits this year because: (1) their State is close to meeting the 8.5% total unemployment rate (TUR) threshold in the bill (i.e., Maine 8.4%) and another month of data might push the State?s rate to the required level; (2) their State is close to meeting the 8% TUR required under the permanent-law Extended Benefits (EB) program for 7 weeks of additional benefits (i.e., Connecticut at 7.9%, Colorado at 7.7% and Texas at 7.5%); (3) their State adopts the trigger to draw down 100% federally-funded EB benefits (i.e., Maryland, Mississippi, Louisiana and Hawaii are now eligible for an additional 13 weeks of EB if the States adopt the necessary trigger, a step already taken by 39 States); or (4) their State newly meets the 6% TUR requirement for additional benefits under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program.

Thanks to all for sending those emails, making calls, it made a huge difference and hopefully, all those who are unemployed can get the help they deserve. Don’t let anyone put you down, everyone who earns a paycheck, pays TAXES. United States should help those who need it, especially if they want us to spend in order for the economy to cycle. Blessings to all….

Suzanny:

Sorry about your aunt – I knew too many, including my dad who most recently lost his two year battle with the Big C. We can all only hope that in our lifetime, somebody will come up with a cure for something – I haven’t seen any cures for many things since Polio.

As far as the meeting today, I thought I read a post on one of the forums that there would be a podcast over the web – Otherwise – I am looking on C-Span (The House of Reps – Channel 66) on Cablevision – Both bills S 1647 & HR 3548 would be good, but personally, I’m hoping for HR 3548 and 13 weeks – Even though it seems like a lot of weeks, don’t the weeks and money go so damn fast? What will we do if the jobs are still not there – I’m sure I can’t be the only one who being out of work so long has taken a really bad mentally, let alone the financial mess I am now in – I don’t usually pray, but I am now – Trying to believe = God bless us all!

WELL THEY ARENT TALKING ABOUT IT ON THE SENATE CHANNEL OR THE HOUSE CHANNEL. BEN BERNANKE IS ON THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CHANNEL. HES TALKING ABOUT THE FINANCIAL MARKETS YAWNNN…BUT HE DID MENTION UNEMPLOYMENT HAS RISEN. SO I GUESS UNEMPLOYMENT IS BEING TALKED ABOUT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS NOT ON TV.

Take Action Now! Fix Jobless Benefits
Demand that Congress Expand Emergency Unemployment Compensation
Over 500,000 Americans are estimated to run out of all of their extended unemployment benefits by September of this year, and by the end of December 2009 a total of 1.5 million will exhaust all assistance.The National Employment Law Project is calling on Congress and the Obama Administration to provide extra weeks of extended benefits to these hard pressed Americans. NELP is asking for an additional 10-20 weeks extension that would help workers in every state.

We need your help to ensure that Congress enacts to expand emergency unemployment compensation as soon as it comes back to work in early September after its summer recess. To take action click here.
Learn about how the end of extended benefits is affecting your state by clicking here.
Volunteer to tell your story to the media by visiting NELP’s worker forum.

For other efforts to fix jobless benefits click on the links on the left hand side bar. Read below for more Extension Campaign updates.

Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do We Go From Here? Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 9/15/09
Senate Finance Committee hearing scheduled for September 15, 2009 at 10 a.m. to discuss critial information regarding Unemployment Insurance.

Member Statements:
Max Baucus, MT
Charles Grassley, IA
Witness Statements:
Ms. Beth Shulman, JD, Chair, Board of Directors, National Employment Law Project, Washington DC
Mr. Doug Holmes, President, Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers’ Compensation, and the National Foundation for Unemployment Compensation & Workers’ Compensation, Washington, DC
Dr. Karen A. Campbell, Macroeconomic Policy Analyst, Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC
Mr. Thomas S. Whitaker, JD, President, National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), Deputy Chairman, North Carolina Employment Security Commission, Raleigh, NC
Dr. Gary Burtless, Senior Fellow in Economic Studies (and Whitehead Chair in Economics), The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC

Rep. McDermott Introduces Streamlined Bill, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi Calls for Swift Action on the Extension. (September 11, 2009)

There were several major developments in the extension campaign yesterday. At a news conference, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi came out strongly in favor of swift action on the extension.While the timeline for action is still unclear, there was another important development Monday. Rep. Jim McDermott introduced new legislation HR3548 that would target an immediate extension of 13 extra weeks of benefits to workers living in states with unemployment rates above 8.5%.

This would defer the decision about what packages of extended benefits will be available next year. Both actions reflect the successful efforts by workers and advocates across the country to raise the profile of the issue, including a surge of press around labor day and the increase in the unemployment rate to 9.7%.

Labor Federation Supports 10-20 Weeks for All Workers (Updated August 21, 2009)
Last week, in a letter to Congress, the AFL-CIO spelled out the grim situation that many jobless Americans are dealing with in the face of the recession and unemployment crisis. They?ve called on Congress to act swiftly on behalf of the large number of unemployed workers that will run out of their benefits by September. In an important step for our campaign, the AFL-CIO threw its weight behind the call for additional weeks of extended benefits in all 50 states, with 20 weeks going to the highest unemployment states.

Momentum Building for the Extension (August 13, 2009)
Before Congress left for its summer recess, momentum swiftly built for the extension. Appearing on Fox News, Rep. Rangel and Republican Senator DeMint agreed that Congress should extend benefits. After Rangel called extending benefits “right” and “moral,” DeMint agreed that Democrats and Republicans “need to take care of those who are unemployed” and that “we’ll definitely support that.”

The action reached a peak on Friday August 7, with the release of July Jobs report that showed that long-term joblessness was at an all time high. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pledged that Senator Reid, as reported in Reuters, pledged that “there is an economic case to be made for extending unemployment benefits,” and that “soon after Congress returns to Washington we’ll need to address this matter.” Presidential spokesperson Robert Gibbs also acknowledged the record long-term unemployment figures, acknowledged the cutoff of benefits and that “we’ve got a lot of work to do.” To read about all of the growing support for the extension click here.

Two pieces of legislation have been introduced. Representative Jim McDermott has introduced the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2009, H.R. 3404. The bill would continue important ARRA benefits including the $25 per week federal additional compensation, full federal sharing for EB benefits, and the existing 33 weeks of EUC, through December 31, 2010 and phasing out by June 2011. In addition, the bill would provide 13 weeks of “further additional emergency unemployment compensation” to those states with an unemployment rate above 9.5%. Senator Jack Reed introduced a similar package in the Senate (S. 1647) would provide such benefits to states with a three months average unemployment rate of 8.5%.

New York Times Cover Story Spurs Nationwide Attention on Extended Benefits (August 2, 2009)
On August 2, the New York Times ran a front-page story featuring NELP’s report that 1.5 million Americans will exhaust their federal extended unemployment benefits by the end of December 2009. The story created a surge of media attention including coverage on CBS Evening News, MSNBC, CNN and sparked new activity in Congress. To read the story, click here.

THIS TODAY ON UNEMPLOYEDWORKERS.ORG FRONT PAGE DATED 9/14/09

I can’t find the meeting right now, but if it is with the Ways and Means Committee, maybe that’s why it may not be on the House channel – but I still though I read from someone on here that there would be a podcast of the meeting – Still searching – I hate depending on these legislators deciding how much longer I can eat and still try and look for a job in a market that is so bad –

LOOKS LIKE THERE IS MORE ON THE UNEMPLOYEDWORKERS.ORG WEBSITE THEN NELP, WHATS UP WITH NELP, THEY ARE NOT MAKING ANY STATEMENTS?

the real john here (for the record the last post under my name wasn’t me, people must be really bored with themselves to post with other people’s board names, only boring people get bored i suppose) so if there’s another post soon after this one it ISN’T me

anyways please post new news soon about their decision, yes I hope we all get the extension if indeed we can’t find work, please powers-that-be do the right thing in these trying times

CAN SOMEONE GO TO THE fiance senate gov PAGE AND CILCK ON PRESS RELEASE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT THEN ON THE TOP NAME baucus AND IT SHOULD HAVE SOME INFO MY COMPUTERS NOT WORKING AND POST IT HERE THANKS SHE TOLD ME I COULD FIND INFO THERE ON THE HEARING TODAY THANKS A LOT

The author Robert Fulghum said:
?A job title doesn?t . . . come close to answering the question: ?What do you do???
Often, ?What do you do?? is among the first things that folks will ask. Often, it?s a question
about much more than just how we spend our time.
These days, more and more Americans answer the question ?What do you do?? by talking
about how they are looking for work.
The unemployment rate is now 9.7 percent. And economists expect it to rise above 10 percent
before long.
That unemployment rate means that 14.5 million people have lost their jobs, and are currently
looking for work. Five million people have been looking for work for more than six months.
Those numbers tell us something about the economy, in this Great Recession. More
importantly, those numbers tell us something about the hardships that real people are facing,
every day.
Last week, the Federal Reserve?s Beige Book said that the economy continues to stabilize. The
economy shows signs of improvement. That?s good news.
But the Beige Book also reports that the labor market remains weak. Recent reports show that
there are about three million job openings, being chased by about 15 million unemployed
people.
Companies are being cautious about adding permanent staff. Instead, they are asking more
from their existing staff.
As dire as the situation may be, ours is a resilient economy. The American economy will
recover. And the economy will recover one job at a time.
??more??
Baucus Page 2
We must continue our work to create jobs. And we must also help our neighbors who are
looking for work. That?s what we did in the Recovery Act.
The average Unemployment Insurance Benefit is $279 a week. The Recovery Act added an
extra $25 a week.
But the average cost of a loaf of bread is $2.79. The average cost of a gallon of milk is $2.72.
Diapers for just one baby can cost up to $85 a month. These days, $279 only stretch so far.
We need to keep our unemployed neighbors from falling into poverty. We need to figure out
how best to make our safety net work.
And in helping our unemployed neighbors, we also help to keep open the neighborhood
grocery store, and the neighborhood gas station. In helping our unemployed neighbors, we
also help to keep houses out of foreclosure. And in helping our unemployed neighbors, we also
help our economy, and ourselves.
Today we hear from experts and stakeholders about Unemployment Insurance. We hear the
views of unemployment beneficiaries, employers, states, and economists.
We hope to get some good ideas about how to help people now, and in the long run. Congress
faces major decisions about unemployment insurance. If we continue to make the right
choices, more folks will find work again, and sooner.
As Robert Fulghum said, a job title doesn?t come close to answering the question: ?What do
you do?? Our title may be ?Senator,? but that doesn?t come close to telling what we do. A
deeper question may be: What do we do to help people? Today, we will spend some time
seeing if we can do some of that

Good article from The Detroit Newshttp://www.detnews.com/article/20090915/POLITICS03/909150400/Senator-promises-quick-action-on-extending-unemployment-benefits

.Senator promises quick action on extending unemployment benefits
Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington — The chairman of a key Senate committee said today Congress will act quickly on legislation extending unemployment benefits to the nation’s jobless.

“It’s a major problem, the number of people who are unemployed,” said Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. “We are going to act in the best way we possibly can.”

Baucus made his comments at the end of a hearing by his committee to look at options to deal with 1.4 million unemployed workers — including 100,000 Michiganians — facing their last unemployment check at the end of the year.

A Senate bill would extend unemployment benefits through December 2010, plus give unemployed workers in states with jobless rates of at least 8.5 percent an additional 13 weeks. That would mean in Michigan, with the nation’s highest jobless rate of 15 percent, unemployed workers could get up to 92 weeks of benefits — nearly 2 years.

. . . . SNIP

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called an extension “essential,” while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama have also signaled support.

The House is expected to act first, possibly before the end of the month, although it’s unclear yet whether it will pass a slimmed-down version solely adding the 13 weeks to hard hit states or also extend extension through the end of 2010.

Baucus said he expects to prepare legislation for a full Senate vote but expects the House to pass its version first and send it to the Senate.
SNIP – – –

Without the extension, unemployment benefits revert to the standard 26 weeks at the start of the year.

Beth Schulman, who chairs the board of the National Employment Law Project, called unemployment benefits a “vital lifeline,” adding, “Now is not the time to pull the plug.” Schulman and other advocates say there’ only one job for every five to six unemployed people.

She argued the “survival benefits” keep people in their homes, and keep small businesses alive with purchases by people too strapped to save.

SNIP – –

About 1.5 million unemployed Americans will lose benefits without an extension by the end of the year, according to the National Employment Law Project.

[email protected] (202) 662-8736
****

KEEP WRITING!!!!!! Let your representatives and senators know that this should be a priority. The sooner the better!!!

Hi, can anyone explain how the new forum works? Am I the only one who finds it very confusing? I hope information will continue to be posted here too. Thanks to all.

Hi 55…….lol…if you can figure out how the new forum works….let me know…i dont like it, and im staying here along with mostly everyone else…..

Updated Press Release (Max Baucus, Chairman)

For Immediate Release Contact: Dan Virkstis
September 15, 2009 (202) 224?4515
BAUCUS EXAMINES SUSTAINED UNEMPLOYMENT CHALLENGE,
EXPLORES OPTIONS TO SAFEGUARD AMERICA?S JOBLESS
Finance hearing addresses current condition of unemployment insurance benefits,
implications of sustained high unemployment for future legislative action
Washington, DC ? Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D?Mont.) in a hearing
today explored the current condition of unemployment insurance benefits in the face of
prolonged joblessness and a stabilizing economy. Witnesses included representatives of
Unemployment Insurance beneficiaries, employers, states and economists, and offered a
diversity of views to inform members as they consider future legislative action. Baucus fought
for additional unemployment insurance for out?of?work Americans as part of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and moved legislation to shore up the Unemployment Trust
Fund in fiscal year 2009 prior to the August work period.
?Many experts and economists agree the economy is stabilizing. That?s good news. But
nearly 15 million Americans are still looking for work and the economy continues to shed
jobs. Today, we opened an important discussion about the unique challenge of this
recession, and the responsibility of Congress to act boldly and creatively to address it. This
recession is unique because, on average, workers have been unemployed for more than 24
weeks ? that?s longer than during any previous recession, and 51 percent will exhaust their
eligibility for benefits this month,? said Baucus. ?Unemployment insurance has been critical
to helping folks get by while they retrain or search for a new job. With millions of workers
looking for jobs, this support is vital and the dollars spent putting food on the table and
paying the bills promote a healthy economy. I will continue to explore this issue and I am
committed to a common?sense response to the real problems these working families face
each day.?
Currently, 9.7 percent of the U.S. population is unemployed and seeking work. The extension
of unemployment benefits provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is set to
expire in December, 2009. In addition, 1.3 million people are due to exhaust their
Unemployment Insurance benefits by the end of this month, with 1.9 million expected by the
end of the year without new employment.
Opening statements and full video footage of today?s hearing may viewed on the Finance
Committee website here: http://www.finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearings.htm.
# # #

SUSANNY… good morning?

This meeting happened yesterday as originally scheduled at 10am. Did you have a chance to check the webcast out?

STAR..NO BECAUSE I JUST SAW YOUR POSTING TODAY. BUT I DID READ ALL THE STATEMENTS THEY GAVE ON THAT WEBSITE.

STAR..NO I DIDNT BECAUSE I JUST SAW YOUR POST TODAY. BUT I READ THE STATEMENTS THAT WERE GIVEN ON THAT WEBSITE. AND IT SEEMED YOUR POST WAS DATED FOR TODAY, SO I THOUGHT YOU MEANT TO LOOK TODAY.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS COME OUT FRIDAY I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE NY IS AT. I WOULD BE SUPRISED IT IS LOWER THAN LAST MONTH.

AND I DON’T LIKE THAT OTHER MSG BOARD SO IM STAYING ON THIS ONE…AT LEAST WE ALL KNOW EACH OTHER AND CAN PICK OUT THE POSERS NOW.

in my opinion it looks good for us…..there were more in support of the bill…..and it made a lot of sense why they should extend…….

Take Action Now! Fix Jobless Benefits
Demand that Congress Expand Emergency Unemployment Compensation
Over 500,000 Americans are estimated to run out of all of their extended unemployment benefits by September of this year, and by the end of December 2009 a total of 1.5 million will exhaust all assistance.The National Employment Law Project is calling on Congress and the Obama Administration to provide extra weeks of extended benefits to these hard pressed Americans. NELP is asking for an additional 10-20 weeks extension that would help workers in every state.

We need your help to ensure that Congress enacts to expand emergency unemployment compensation as soon as it comes back to work in early September after its summer recess. To take action click here.
Learn about how the end of extended benefits is affecting your state by clicking here.
Volunteer to tell your story to the media by visiting NELP’s worker forum.

For other efforts to fix jobless benefits click on the links on the left hand side bar. Read below for more Extension Campaign updates.

20 of the Nation’s Governors Call for Swift Action on the Extension
Today, a bipartisan group of 20 of the nation’s governors issued a public letter to the leaders in Congress calling for swift action to extend unemployment benefits. The calls for action are growing – from Connecticut to Colorado.

THIS ON THE FRONT PAGE OF UNEMPLOYEDWORKERS.COM TODAY. BUT I WONDER WHICH GOVERNORS? IT DOESNT SAY.

SUSANNY,

Yes, they were having some technical difficulties at the Finance Committee with steaming the meeting on-time so it wasn’t until much later in the day when I saw it. If you click on the link at the end of the press release I posted, it takes you directly to the page where you can click on the webcast link to view the meeting from yesterday.

I know what you mean, the new forum was definitely a learning curve which is why I didn’t want the change, originally, but now I like it; everything has it’s place which is awesome instead of going through several posts to find something and no-one can pose under your name! It’s too bad that the creeps had to go ruin it for everyone because this is the ideal forum, but now I don’t trust it as much because the same episode can happen again at a moment’s notice. It was so annoying. Thanks to the moderator who was very cool about cleaning things up when it got out-of-hand.

Anyway, Joey posted a link on the new forum that pretty much said that House Democratic leaders are deciding as early as today when to hold a vote for the bill to extend the thirteen weeks so we’re not out of the woods yet, we still have to make calls and send emails/letters… It’s very important! Stay well!

This is going to happen… it may be the last extension, but it will happen. Too many important people are pushing for it and think about it – we are at an all time high percentage in what, 30 years? They can’t shut it off now and they know that. It just takes time but from all that I have read we are on the right track and it may seem slow but we are moving forward.

This forum is way more user-friendly. Once you get used to the style of a regular poster , it’s easy to spot an imposter. Ever since school is back and kindergarten is in session we have had less issues with imposters.

Sissy,

I may be naive, but I’m not so sure that this will be the last extension (unless it’s a real, real long one). Think about it – things are much worse now, job-wise, than they were when the original extensions were passed, and unemployment is expected to keep rising. There will be more of us, and fewer and fewer jobs, for months, and maybe years to come. Arguably, they could leave us all in the lurch, or conversely, we could be lucky find a suitable job, but I think odds for both are low. We all want and need to work. I hope they continue to see that it is not our fault, or failing, that we can’t.

Tony I agree with everything you said. I was trying to ‘ease’ some of the worry I am reading without soundng unreasonable. You are so right, the reality of this is much worse and not ending anytime soon. I have been on unemployment like most since 2007. Can I get a job at the mall for $7.50 an hour? Sure. I was making $24 an hour. With 2 babies after day care that mall job would actually cost me MORE to take. Everyone is suffering. I have constant ‘lists’ of who gets paid first, what we can spend on groceries and what we can’t have – where we can go and what coupons are available. This country has changed so much and so have the circumstances of the American people. This government knows they cannot fail us. Without a functioning stable economic environment politics (and politicians) really won’t matter anyway.

I think that there may be subsequent extensions in 2010, BUT I have a hunch that there will be some gaps in coverage. The lawmakers will want to analyze EXACTLY what happens to the economy if you take away benefits. For now, I don’t think they want to gamble with the approaching holiday shopping season.

Are most of you downstate? I am WNY area…
Just wanted a feel for people’s thoughts relevant to geography.

I am in upstate ny – i am lucky enough to have a job still but my husband does not – which is equally stressful for me because I am supporting both of us now and I dont make that much money. He is a phys. ed. teacher and with all the cuts in school budgets the odds of him finding a job teaching right now are not good. One of the last phys ed jobs he applied to recieved over 200 applicants – and chances are, the job was filled before they even posted it. I have been following this blog for months – hoping and praying that the extentions continue. In the mean time, we just keep getting deeper and deeper into debt. Thank you all so much for all the information posted here – I have never felt more informed and really appreciate it. Glad you all came back to this forum too – i nearly freaked out when everyone left and went to the new one. 🙂

Our jobless rate is closing in on 10%. Certain boros/communities/ethnic groups are experiencing much higher rates of joblessness. I have noticed a significant rise in crime and violence over the last few months. I have seen many vacant retail spaces and stalled construction projects. The unemployed populace of NYC is presently higher than the state’s average. We all need extra coverage ASAP. It gets VERY frustrating sending out resumes and getting nowhere. Just a mere thank you note from an employer seems like a major victory.

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