Regarding the Simplistic Right-Wing Meme re Unemployment
December 22, 2009 at 10:52 PM Leave a comment
The right is screaming about the news that many states are on the verge of running out of money for their unemployment programs.
Dean Baker over at Beat the Press points out how simplistic their argument is and how much more complicated the reality is:
The Washington Post had a front page article reporting on the shortfalls facing state unemployment insurance funds as the unemployment rate remains in or near double-digit levels. At one point it tells readers that: “the troubles the state programs face can be traced to a failure during the economic boom to properly prepare for a downturn.”
This is not true. The state unemployment insurance (UI) programs were fully prepared for a normal downturn. They just were not prepared for the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It would be difficult to imagine states raising UI taxes in preparation for a downturn that was far more severe than any major economist predicted. The problem was the incompetent economic management by Federal Reserve Board chairs Greenspan and Bernanke, not the conduct of the states.
Entry filed under: Democrats, Including Blue Dogs & "Liberals", Fox "News"/ Fox "Business" /Rupert Murdoch / Wall Street Journal, Our Tax Dollars, President Barack H. Obama and Co., WingNutO'Sphere. Tags: .
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