Subject:
Don't let Congress roll back our economic recovery!
Your message to friends:
Dear Friend, Imagine that your two-year-old son is diagnosed with Leukemia. You think it can't get any worse and then your husband loses his job. Now, six months later he's still desperately trying to find work and Congress is cutting off his unemployment benefits--despite the fact that there are still five applicants for every available job in this country. That's what's happening to Autumn, a MomsRising member from West Virginia, and to 2.1 million other Americans in similarly desperate situations who have been cut off from their unemployment insurance benefits. Members of Congress are returning to Washington D.C. this week after their 4th of July break. Tell them that failing to extend unemployment insurance and fiscal relief to the states is driving millions of families to the edge and threatening the economic recovery for all of us. http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/UI_2010-7-13/?referring_akid=2194.179534.GTN9PU&source=taf What's happening? Before Congress adjourned for their July 4th break, 38 Senators voted against extending unemployment insurance, leaving unemployment insurance benefits to lapse for an estimated 2.1 million Americans. Alleged "deficit hawks" in Congress are arguing that we can't afford to keep millions of families afloat. However, the "deficit hawk" argument doesn't fly with families on Main Street. In fact, letting families go into economic free fall hurts our economic recovery. With 14.6 million people still unemployed and the national unemployment rates hovering at 9.5 percent, this is no time to threaten our nascent economic recovery by throwing millions more people into foreclosure and bankruptcy. Indeed, Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com estimated that every dollar of unemployment benefits generates $1.63 in economic growth. [1] Even Bill Bixby, the president of the Concord Coalition, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the nation's deficit, was recently quoted in the Boston Globe saying, "As a deficit hawk, I wouldn't worry about extending unemployment benefits. It's not going to add to the long-term structural deficit and it does address a serious need. I just feel like unemployment benefits wandered onto the wrong street corner at the wrong time, and now they are getting mugged." [2] And, indeed, most Americans agree. In a recent poll conducted by the National Employment Law Project, 74 percent of Americans agree that it's not time for Congress to cut back on benefits, even in light of the deficit. [3] So what is Congress waiting for? On behalf of Autumn and millions of families like hers, take a quick second to send a letter to Congress telling them to make extending unemployment insurance and fiscal relief to the states their first order of business this week. http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/UI_2010-7-13/?referring_akid=2194.179534.GTN9PU&source=taf Thanks! P.S. To read Autumn's story and stories from hundreds of other MomsRising members who are struggling because of jobs lost in this recession and to add your own: http://www.momsrising.org/all-stories?referring_akid=2194.179534.GTN9PU&source=taf [1] Mark Zandi, The Economic Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Moody's Economy.com, January 21, 2009 http://www.economy.com/mark-zandi/documents/Economic_Stimulus_House_Plan_012109.pdf [2] Scot Lehigh, Go Long, Senator Brown, Boston Globe, July 7, 2010 http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/07/07/go_long_senator_brown/ [3] New Poll Finds 74% of Americans Think Congress Should Continue Health Subsidy & Jobless Benefits, National Employment Law Project, June 7, 2010 http://www.nelp.org/page/-/UI/NELPSURVEYPRJune2010.pdf
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