Michael Paul Williams: Va. GOP is no friend of the unemployed
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Mike's Take
Tough times? Tough luck. Columnist Mike Williams says the General Assembly showed too much concern for businesses and too little for the unemployed.During these hard times, Virginia's GOP lawmakers should strike a blow for the little guy. Instead, they struck the little guy with a blow.
In rejecting $125.5 million in federal stimulus money to expand unemployment benefits, Republican legislators -- aided by one Democrat -- left at least one unemployed Virginian disgusted.
"They must be crazy," Rodney Payne said as he walked out of the Virginia Employment Commission office in Mechanicsville. "Have them laid off for a while and not have a job."
"Same people who vote for'em, they don't care about," said Payne, a Highland Springs resident who was laid off in August from his job at Vulcan Materials.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine had sought to extend jobless benefits to unemployed part-time workers, as well as those not working but training for other positions. But Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates fretted that the proposed changes in state law would leave businesses holding the bag after the federal money dried up.
Those fears do not come close to outweighing the immediate crisis facing the state's unemployed. And Kaine says Virginia employers pay the second-lowest annual amount of unemployment taxes in the nation -- about $98 per worker. The national average is $258.
Businesses cannot have it both ways. They've realized savings through part-time employees, many of whom would prefer to work full time. But these part-timers, who often work without benefits, need help now. "I think it's a very shortsighted decision by the assembly," said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the New York-based National Employment Law Project, an advocate for lower-wage workers.
"It's really a win-win. It helps people get benefits right now, and that's very important to the economy," he said. "This is one of the things that really helps prop up the consumer."
About 300,000 Virginians are out of work, and the jobless rate is nearing 7 percent. (The national rate was 8.5 percent in March.) But state GOP lawmakers couldn't resist telling Washington to stick it -- a tradition that dates to an era when Dixie's politicians flaunted their contempt for Washington's race-mixing, money-wasting ways.
Turning down federal money never made sense. Even before the recession, areas of Virginia where coal and furniture manufacturing ruled now struggle against the economic tide.
Now that the entire state is being threatened by this tsunami, GOP legislators are protecting the folks highest and driest. Is there any lingering doubt that for Republican legislators, business is Constituent One?
"By opposing the taking of the money, the Republicans have pleased their activists and also the business community, which could mean more campaign money for their coffers this year," said Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.
The GOP will have to persuade voters that the unemployment stimulus isn't worth the short-term gain, Sabato said. "Educational campaigns are expensive and tough to execute in the hothouse of an election year."
Indeed, Virginia Republicans will have to explain why, when handed an opportunity to toss a lifeline to the jobless, they clung to ideology instead.
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or
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Reader Reactions
” Have a Nice Day!
Now there’s another burden laid squarely on me. Because of that comment, I now must go forth and have a nice day. Don’t know how I could make it through the day without such heartfelt compassion and “caring.”
As an aside, it’s hardly “uncaring” to dismiss a handout. I’m doing all in my power to create jobs for the unemployed, yet the “caring” feds jump on every chance available to throw obstacles in my way. Seems to me those who wish to tell me how to run my life are the truly uncaring souls. I prefer my liberty to the currently fashionable paradigm of “caring.”
Maybe Governor Kaine can put some pressure on Congress to cut the strings attached to this money. I’am sure the state would gladly accept this money for the unemployed, had not the congress which is controlled by the democrats not placed such a burden on its acceptance. So maybe the Governor will step up and use his influence to cut these strings.
Item 1: ”Turning down federal money never made sense.”
Item 2: ” Virginia should take the $125,500,000.00 now and decided (sic) in 2011 or late 2010 if the $4.56 increase in employer unemployment tax is justified via a true cost benefit analysis.”
Re Item 1: Being robbed of our money by the feds makes even less sense. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul…or in this instance, Michael Paul.
Re Item 2: A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
SamBear, please cite your source where, “Today, it is being reported that Bob McDonnell personally called each Republican legislator ...“
‘New York based National Employment Law Project’ Mull that over. This advocacy group calls itself an ‘employment law’ project, but its agenda is UNemployment benefits. It is a ‘project’ which among its many definitions includes the one ‘scheme’. Substitute that for ‘project’ and we come closer to what this group is about. A ‘scheme’, an ‘angle’, a ‘racket’. Of course, us ignorant rubes way down here in ‘Ole Virginny’ just can’t get along without a New York-based ‘racket’ doing our thinking for us either. Before one rushes pell-mell into an open-ended commitment to welfare extension they might want to read another article in the T-D today about a welfare-fraud scheme. Crooks follow the money. Extend it and it WILL be abused. Besides, let no one forget that this one-time federal windfall will have to be picked up by Virginia taxpayers if the benefits are extended.
The lines for the free money and benefits handouts just keeps getting longer and longer. Therefore the number of people having to provide these freebies has to be getting smaller. What will those with their hands out do when the suppliers disappear?
The welfare mentality must be contagious.
The people who “struck the little guy with a blow” are the congress and the president. By making this money conditional upon accepting their requirements for benefits, they made yet another feckless grab for power and control. If there were really concerned about the little guy, they would have provided these funds without strings.
The money from the stimulus package is only short term. Virginia’s taxpayers and businesses would have been “stuck” with the long term costs of this program. Virginia has (had) a very favorable environment for business, with low taxes and low regulation-based operating costs. Seeing that businesses are fleeing the northeast because of excessive taxes and costs, congress tried to “level the playing field” by making the business climate worse in Virginia. The General Assembly made the right choice for the majority of Virginians and for our long term recovery from the current economic malaise. There are plenty of other programs; TANF, WIC, etc., to help people who are experiencing difficulties.
Ideology before humanity. Kind of like the Taliban.
Its real simple Mr. Williams if you use your mind instead of your heart. I have no money but I borrow some. I then say to you “Williams, here’s $125 million for you to give to folks who’ve lost their jobs but when you’ve spent it you have to pay me back so I can pay the guys I borrowed it from back”.
I’d suggest you read up on what is happening in Ireland for an idea of what
happens when a nation spends more than it has. Iceland too. We are broke as a nation. If Kaine wants to give more money to those without jobs let him find the money by cutting spending someplace else not put the bill on the national credit card that we must payback with interest.
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