Long-Term Unemployment Proves Economic Austerity Folly

The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed little change in long-term unemployment in March, with 4.6 million Americans being tossed away like garbage. These are people who want a job but cannot find one, and their elected representatives are doing nothing about it. Republicans, particularly congressional Republicans, have shown very little concern for the unemployed. They reject any attempts to stimulate the economy, and when the long-term unemployed try to get by on unemployment benefits, Republicans try to snatch that from them as well.

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The ‘Fiscal Cliff’ That Isn’t

On today’s Up on MSNBC, Chris Hayes said if the debt and deficit were really a major concern in Washington, we would not have a debate framed around a fictional “fiscal cliff.” Hayes said that it is neither fiscal or a cliff. At best it’s a fiscal curb, but even that isn’t correct because on the fiscal side, the “fiscal cliff’ is actually a major dose of austerity.

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