by Michael Bock

Created on: July 06, 2010

I have to concur in the fullest that the Senate should have extended benefits. If all the Senators and Congressmen that voted nay on the bill were placed in the exact same shoes as most of the unemployed, then they would not hesitate even for a second to extend in extending benefits (assuming that they-hypothetically-could still vote in Congress, but had no more paycheck coming). I can still remember when Congress overwhelmingly voted to give themselves raises a few years back, even while the country's economy was tanking and workers were being laid-off left and right!

With that said, I do recognize that the country is in the hole for unspeakable trillions of dollars, but I have to digress very temporarily to give a little air-time to the "wars" and how they have contributed to that deficit. We still face the fact that we decided to invade and occupy Iraq - on completely false pretenses and under a war-mongering president and vice-president. Furthermore, while hardly anyone would deny the reason for the initial siege in Afghanistan many years ago, almost a decade has passed and it's turned into a nothing more than a Vietnam-style occupation that will not be won directly. That, my conservative Congressmen, is a huge factor why we are in the hole for untold trillions of dollars.

My apologies for that little side-tracked tangent.

People who have been laid-off through no fault of their own, and many more that have been fired for more-or-less frivolous reasons, still deserve the benefits that Congressmen would all-too-easily accept for themselves if they were put in the shoes of the "plebian". My honest, educated opinion is that the majority of Senators that voted 'nay' did so for political reasons and for political gain only. The mid-term elections are just around the corner, and they know quite well the overall attitude of their constituents - which is basically a "let 'em freeze" mentality.

I have spoken with countless people who have been out-of-work for a substantial amount of time. Most of them have tried in earnest to find a replacement full-time job; most have been very unsuccessful, and most have started doing side-jobs and even freelance gigs just to get-by. Yes, there will always be exceptions to the rule; there will always be those who want nothing more than to ride the government for as long as possible for doing absolutely nothing. I honestly believe, however, that the majority of the unemployed very much want, and desperately need, a job.

Senators: for all of you that voted down the unemployment benefits, you should truly be ashamed. If anyone is unpatriotic, it is you - not the "little man". It is you, because you voted with your brain - to get re-elected - and not with your heart. Then again, politicians and "having a heart" is a very rare creature.

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