Saturday, July 3, 2010

Campaign Log: He Didn't Like Extensions

Why would a person work if they could get something for nothing, get something without working?

Knocked on one door tonight, this one on Fruitwood Lane, where the person didn't like President Obama's extending unemployment insurance benefits.

"Obama, everytime he extends it, there's no incentive for people to go out and work," he said.

In my door pitch, I say I don't like our welfare system, and that people should be allowed to work for what they get. The last couple days, I have spoken of how news reports suggest the recovery may not be as enduring as hoped, and we might be facing a double-dip. Part of the problem might be that we have given extensions to those on unemployment. I cannot help but wonder that once on unemployment, if some do not stay on it as long as they can. A couple months ago, when the news reports had us riding an economic recovery, it was noted that the recovery was a jobless recovery, meaning the one part of the economy not recovering was the unemployment rate, which remained in the 10 percent range.

Back then, I couldn't help wondering if our policy of extending unemployment benefits contributed to unemployment not recovering. If you want people to work, you encourage work. If you encourage them not to work, they'll readily comply. For a portion, that is exactly what we reap by extending unemployment benefits.

Anyway, I do believe in helping our unemployed, and our disadvantaged. We, as a society, have the means to help everyone. If we can, we should.

"You're a lot nicer than me," the man at the door said, when he perceived I wasn't saying let's do away with all our welfare programs. "I say get rid of it all."

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