Stealth stimulus

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From The Associated Press:

"A record 20 million plus people collected unemployment benefits at some point in 2009, a year that ended with the jobless rate at 10%" (The 'jobless 'rate' is in reality north of 17%, as I'm sure you know...)

The pace of layoffs have 'slowed' but new jobs are still scarce with 6 unemployed Americans vying for every available job opening. The number of long term unemployed continues to grow with nearly 6 million people out of work for more than 6 months...

This is likely to only continue to get worse as business and consumers alike keep a close eye on spending. The consensus is that the unemployment rate, at best, will remain above 9% (officially/manipulated) at least throughout 2010.

To me, one of the biggest 'problems' of this particular economic downturn is the fact that it is devistating state revenues. 49 of our 50 states have some sort of balanced budget requirement to be dealt with... Many states have made legally binding commitments to pension funds. Legally binding commitments that were created during much better economic times. But, legally 'binding' none-the-less...

States are also 'required' to set aside money with which to pay jobless benefits. A 'requirement' that was no doubt implemented during a time before the worst economic downturn since the 1930's struck America...

So what happens when/if states are 'unable' to meet these 'required' obligations?

They do what everyone else does... They seek 'bailouts' from the federal government. These are referred to as federal government 'loans' but I beg to differ...

Congress and the obama administration will be 'forced' (the word chosen by the Associated Press) to 'spend' as much as 70 billion dollars in 2010 to extend jobless benefits for the 'long term' unemployed. So, at least according to the Associated Press, we can call this 'forced federal spending'?

Of course it isn't really 'forced spending' at all... The federal government has the 'option' of allowing extended unemployment benefits to... expire. Benefits were already 'extended' several times in 2009.

According to the Associated Press 10.1 million Americans collected jobless benefits in the week of Dec 12, 2009. Up about 200,000 from the previous week. Again, according to the Associated Press, 5.3 million of those recieved the 'benefits' from the states while 4.8 million, nearly half, recieved the money from the federal government (ie; from taxpayers).

The federal 'extentions' are set to 'expire' in Feb of 2010. If they are allowed to expire as many as one million people would run out of 'unemployment aid'.

Also pointed out is the fact that in 2009 roughly 20.7 million people collected unemployment benefits at some point during the year, 2009. A record number...

At least 15 million Americans are currently out of work. That's an increase of 3.8 million since the beginning of 2009. The real unemployment number, the one 'glossed over' by the government, with a 'complicit' press, which counts the under-employed and those who have simply 'given up' their fruitless job search efforts, is at least 17.2% !

Unemployment insurance benefits paid by, very nearly bankrupt, states is only expected to increase in 2010. The states, in many cases, simply do not have the money! 25 states have already run completely out of funds for the unemployed and have 'borrowed' 26 BILLION DOLLARS from the federal government, (ie; taxpayers). According to the Associated Press the Labor Depeartment has projected 40 states, (80% of states!), may have to 'borrow' as much as 90 BILLION DOLLARS more from the federal government.

Unemployment insurance taxes have already gone up in 35 states. These 'taxes' are levied against 'employers'! The very same 'employers' who we 'hope' will begin to hire again someday... So exactly how is INCREASING their tax burden going to help encourage them to hire more workers?!

So now it looks as if congress may be 'forced', again the Associated Press' word, to consider raising the federal unemployment tax as well... So higher taxes across the board from state and federal government to pay 'wages' to people who HAVE NO JOB! While the 'tax increases' are directed at the companies who cannot afford to hire workers?! Does this make any sense at all???

Here are *my* thoughts on the issues at hand, as if that matters...

Here is my 'problem' with all this... And this includes the 'expanded food stamp program as well, also at record levels = also costing the federal government/taxpayers more money than ever before in our history...

The, arbitrarily, 'extended' unemployment benefits, and expanded food stamp program, are nothing more than a 'stealth bailout'. A 'stealth stimulus' for the economy as a whole. It's a 'bailout' for 'business' that is fairly easy to 'sell' to the American public as the 'compassionate' thing to do for unemployed Americans.

But, in the end, it is asking the barely over 80% of Americans who are fortunate enough to still have a job to 'pay' the wages of 'unemployed' Americans through taxation. So the employed Americans are now expected to 'pay' the rent/mortgage, utilities, grocery bills, indeed the credit card bills, car payments and even cable TV bills, for the 'unemployed' Americans!

Now *I* don't want to see people, American families, homeless or without heat in the winter or with no food with which to feed themselves or their children any more than any other compassionate human being does.

But this has to be, quite obviously to me, unsustainable! Especially when it requires higher taxes on the very business' who are already too financially strapped and/or economically worried to hire in the first place... It's ridiculous...

The states are 'borrowing' the money from a government that is ALREADY BANKRUPT! The ONLY thing holding together this ponzi scheme of an economy right now is a federal reserve banking system who has the 'magical/mystical' ability to electronically counterfeit imaginary 'money' until, apparently, the end of time if necessary. And most all of this 'imaginary loot' doesn't really exist at all in the 'real economy'. Most of it is being force fed onto the books of failing, or failed, institutions to HIDE the fact that they ARE failing, or have already failed.

This is why inflation has remained, relatively, calm... 'They' NEVER INTENDED for the TRILLIONS of 'imaginary' printed dollars to enter the 'real economy'. It was always intended to HIDE on the books of failing/failed financial institutions including the insurance industry. To prop up failing/failed institutions to avoid 'admitting' real bankruptcies...

The, apparent to me, 'plan' of the government and federal reserve banking system is to go 'all in', is to place a HUGE GAMBLE, with America's future hanging in the balance. A 'BET' that 'they' can prop up the markets, through manipulation of, not only data, but the markets themselves, long enough for the economy to catch up and experience a 'real' recovery.

The government/federal reserve (they are pretty much one and the same thing now days) actually believe, apparently, that 'they' can endlessly print money and funnel some of it, strategically, to the American public so that the American public has the means and ability to 'give' that 'imaginary' money to banks and insurance companies and car companies and credit card companies and whoever else, long enough to 'prop' everything up, to keep everything from collapsing/crumbling. long enough for America to experience a real recovery... Thereby preventing a real 'business collapse' from occurring.

What?!

So the federal reserve is printing 'imaginary' money as fast as it can and directly depositing that imaginary money on the books of failed institutions.

The, nearly bankrupt, states are 'borrowing' BILLIONS of 'imaginary' dollars from an already bankrupt government with no money to 'loan' anyone. So that the states can 'give' that 'imaginary' money to Americans who HAVE NO JOB. So those (unemployed) Americans can 'give' the 'imaginary' money to the failing/failed institutions!

Talk about a PONZI SCHEME!

Don't you see the 'circular nature' of this 'imaginary' money? The federal government/federal reserve are attempting to pay EVERYONE'S bills FOR them until the economy picks back up... No MATTER how long that may take. It is socialism on steroids... If all these unemployed Americans had exhausted their unemployment 'benefits', which IS how the system/rules are set up... BTW... then none of them would be paying their bills and all would have already collapsed and we, the people, could already be picking up the pieces and embarking on our 'new beginning'...

'They', our kleptocratic government and criminal federal reserve banking system seek ONLY to protect THEMSELVES and their POWER!

That's what ALL of this is TRULY about... Bastards...

It has absolutely NOTHING to do with what is right/fair/just/good for the American people...

Greg