TIER 5 UNEMPLOYMENT EXTENSION: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

The fact that the Democratic-controlled congress did not vote a budget which included a Tier 5 Extension before they adjourned before the elections is a sure sign that they used this as a political football with the 99ers to see where their sympathies were, and allowed those whose unemployment expired during the course of the month to dangle without the Tier 5 voted into law. Had they been serious about getting the long-term unemployed some help, they could have gone along with the Republicans' request that any extension provided be drawn from the TARP funds. In this manner, any continued benefits will not affect the existing federal budget. The TARP has tens of billions of unused funds available for such programs, and it would have made sense for congress to have passed a Tier 5 for the increasing numbers of 99ers who have been left hanging on their own for a year now. The fact that nothing was done speaks volumes as to how serious these congressmen and senators are about helping the long term unemployed. Action speaks louder than words, and the Democratic response to the Republican's request speaks louder than any claims they have made thus far. On November 2nd 2010 the American electorate showed its displeasure at the ballot box and laid off a record number of these two-bit politicians.