Main Street

#ExtendUI: We’re Not Asking, We’re Demanding

The time is ticking away for Congress to act to extend unemployment insurance, a vital lifeline for over 6 million Americans. Every day of inaction adds more anxiety for those among us who already have too much to worry about – the inability to buy gas and groceries, caring for kids, paying off loans, and searching for a job in one of the most unforgiving markets in decades.

The power over whether or not a clean extension of UI will come to a vote rests almost entirely in one man: Speaker of the House John Boehner. The Speaker expressed that he wanted Congress to act quickly on the issue of UI, but had this response when asked what would happen if Congress failed:

“I’m not an economist, I don’t know what impact it’s going to have on the economy,” he said in response to a question from NBC News at his weekly press conference. “It’s just that I do believe there’s enough common ground between where the White House and Democrats are and where Republicans are for us to move this legislation and to do so quickly.”

We’re not all economists either, Mr. Speaker, but we know very well the impact a failure to extend UI will have on the economy.

Nearly two million Americans will lose benefits in January 2012 alone, and that will increase by 6 million by the end of the year. In some cases, that means they will lose their only source of income. In all cases, it will mean greater strain on family members, and less money going through the cash registers of grocery stores, gas stations, and other businesses that sell basic necessities.

I will mean 49 year-old Dawn Deane of Philadelphia will fall behind on her mortgage payments, and maybe even have her car repossessed.

It will mean Vincent Brandon, an Army veteran and out-of-work transit worker from Pittsburgh, will struggle to feed his 5 year-old daughter, let alone buy his fiancée a ring.

It will mean more hunger, more hardship, and more suffering for our fellow Americans. And that’s why we’re not asking. We’re demanding.

The 7th demand of our 9 Demands for the 99% reads: Extend unemployment insurance. Millions of Americans are still out of work, and unemployment insurance is a vital lifeline. Thousands have signed the 9 Demands petition, and support for our demands increase daily.

On Thursday, we’re joining the AFL-CIO, National Employment Law Project, and unemployed workers from across the country on Capitol Hill to hold a Vigil for the Jobless and Jobs.

We’re going to be asking our elected officials how they could possibly leave the economic survival of millions in such doubt, all in the name of protecting 300,000 ultra-wealthy individuals from the slightest increase on their historically low taxes.

We’re not going to sit around while Congress scoots off on vacation instead of serving the people who pay their salaries. Add your voice to the petition, and use the hashtag #ExtendUI on Twitter to spread the word.

Tags: Jobs, unemployment, unemployment extension