Can someone please tell me why this unemployment benefits extension and tax cut bill is so hard to understand and support? Whether it is short term or long term in Congresses thinking, many need the relieve NOW. However, the bickering that keeps going back and forth between party lines and within party loyalists is getting hard to keep track of. What once was promised a couple of days ago as a bipartisan agreement is slowly falling apart within the parties.
I can understand that Congress is not united in this unemployment benefits extension and tax cut bill; however, the dissension within party ranks is getting scary. At first, we thought it was just a Democratic infighting that this deal was creating. Now we find out that Republican leaders are not happy about the compromise made with President Barack Obama.
While many in the Republican Party see this unemployment benefits extension and tax cuts bill as a way to put American businesses back into the black on their balance sheets, some others in the party see it as a deep hole in the national debt. News reports have stated that possible 2012 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is arguing that the temporary tax cuts could be too big a price tag for an uncertain U.S. economy. He is quoted as saying that, "The deal delivers short-term economic stimulus, and it does so at the very time the President wants it most, before the 2012 elections. But the long term health of our great engine of prosperity will remain very much in doubt."
As we have discussed here before, the tier 5 and 99er's groups are well represented in the community. Numerous online support groups continue to help those who are without or soon to be without unemployment benefits. Obviously, this tax cuts bill that includes unemployment benefits extensions will not help this group and relieve is not seen in the near future. However, how long can Congress ignore what the Federal Reserve expects as a 9 percent unemployment rate for next year? My original question still needs to be answered. Does Congress understand the need for relieve NOW of it's American constituents? Let's hope so...