Dissing the jobless
Why the Republicans feel comfortable dumping on people out of work
Dissing the jobless
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett has rightly sparked a controversy with his Friday lament about how jobless people would supposedly prefer to suck for eternity on the public teat rather than seek an honest day's pay. In Corbett's words, "The jobs are there. But if we keep extending unemployment, people are just going to sit there." Hence, his exhortation to the jobless: "Get off your duffs and go to work."
It's probably a waste of cyberspace to detail the obvious - that millions of jobless people would clearly prefer to be working full-time with health benefits, as opposed to sinking into despair at home with no such benefits and a weekly unemployment check capped in Pennsylvania at roughly $560 (with the more typical stipend at $310); that, on average nationwide, there are five active job seekers for every opening (and a far worse ratio for the quality openings); and that these unemployment checks at least give the jobless an opportunity to function as consumers and prime the economic pump (a new study by Moody's Analytics concludes that each dollar spent by the government on jobless pay yields an overall return of $1.61 for the economy).
So let's just look at the politics. Bottom line, Corbett's basic narrative about shiftless slackers is fully in sync with his party's fundamental 'tude. Among other examples, Nevada Senate candidate and tea-party heroine Sharron Angle insists that the long-term jobless are "spoiled," House member Dean Heller has condemned them as "hobos," Senator Orrin Hatch has suggested that jobless people applying for extended benefits should first be required to pass a drug test (jobless = junkies), and Senator John Kyl says that the jobless shouldn't get extended benefits because those benefits make the federal deficit worse (by contrast, this weekend Kyl told Fox News Sunday that tax cuts for the wealthy should be extended, even if they make the federal deficit worse). All of this explains why Senate Republicans (joined by Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, whose state of Nebraska enjoys a 4.9 percent jobless rate) have blocked the latest push to extend benefits for those on verge of being cut off.
It would appear - at first glance, anyway - that the Republican stance toward the jobless is wildly at odds with the prevailing public mood. In the latest Washington Post-ABC Poll, this question was posed: "Because of the economic downturn, Congress has extended the period in which people can receive unemployment benefits, and is considering doing so again. Supporters say this will help those who can't find work. Opponents say this adds too much to the federal budget deficit. Do you think Congress should or should not approve another extension of unemployment benefits?"
The percentage of those who said that Congress should again extend benefits: 62. The percentage of those opposed: 36.
Even 43 percent of self-identified Republicans (and 57 percent of self-identified moderate/liberal Republicans) are in the Yes camp, apparently buying the basic argument voiced yesterday by a spokesman at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry: "People are not getting rich off of unemployment. They are not putting money in the bank. It's keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads."
But what's striking is that the aforementioned Republican candidates and lawmakers seem not to fear that their Marie Antoinette let-them-eat-cake rhetoric will backfire at the ballot box. The Post-ABC survey only measures general public sentiment, not the sentiment of those who seem most motivated to vote in November. And those with the greatest enthusiasm - notably, tea-party conservatives who (studies show) are more affluent than the norm - generally buy the GOP's harsh caricature.
To borrow Tom Corbett's terminology, the real question is whether diehard Democrats will get off their duffs and go to the polls en masse in November, or whether they're too demoralized by the current state of play. The GOP's willingness to diss the jobless is proof that they anticipate a decisive conservative turnout.
Remember when Obama said in February 2009 that if the stimulus was passed unemployment would not pass 8%? Does Dickie want to talk about that?— CD75- How many times has Obama played golf since he became president? How much time did Obama spend on health care and pursuing a partisan and radical agenda instead of working on J.O.B.S? That is "dissing", Mr. Dickie.— Comrade Noodlehead
- I've been trying to hire people for three months without much luck.A small sampling to be sure but I have spent some time wondering why in this economic climate I can't fill positions.Just sayin'.— Yankee Air Pirate 12
- I'm a Republican and I'm running for Governor. You people are lazy and don't want to work. Vote for me!— pic man
- The lack of consistency in politicians positions (both D & R) still amaze me. Saw Kyl not flinch a bit when Chris Wallace asked him how he could reconcile his insistance on all budget costs being paid for with his proposal to give a tax break to the rich. What a joke of a public servant he is...— yobill626
- Unemployment is about 9.5% and the real unemployment number is 15% (those unemployed and not looking, not collecting). The point is unemployment is too high. Not enough people have come to grips with high paying / low skill jobs are no longer in America. Thus, they disapprove of DC's actions. Rightly so, we have too many laws which limit our growth. Want jobs, fire govt. Look at the changes Murphy 8th ward has made. He after voting year over year of increases in spending, now wants to spend less. He has even challanged Obama over the jobs package. Why, angry people who might not vote his way. Tempers rise when taxes and unemployment go up.— Fisher
It's true. Who is going to pump gas when you can get more collecting unemployment and living off the rest of us?- What does DP do, just troll the web until he finds some poor R who makes a misstep? And how about that fine point DP fails to state, i.e., Rs are in favor of extending jobless benefits IF THEY CAN PAY FOR IT IN THE BUDGET (you know the one the Ds want to "deem" instead of actually pass)! That's the party's real "fundamental 'tude," let's start paying for these massive programs.— pj katauskas
- Vote Onorato. He'll extend your benefits indefinitely.— A Friend
- A few points. 1) Corbett is a career politician and a dope. 2) Polman, you can't just make a claim about a group and then paranthesize "studies show." Why not provide a link? I'm actually interested in the demographic data. 3) An article in Sunday's edition of the WaPo further convinces me that voters who wail about the deficit truly couldn't care less as long as they are financially well off. The deficit sure does make for a very high horse, and people ride on it through these comments all the time! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2010/07/09/GR2010070905854.html— puttinonthefoil
- Wow, 2 opinion pieces and a city howl spot on the same thing. The DNC got the word out to their flunkies on this one. Anything come over to you about the Black Panthers Dick? Yur public is dying for you to give us your take on the special protection certain classes get in this country becasue of past injustice.— tr88
- "but it turns out there is a strong relationship between increasing people's incomes and getting their votes." Incomes will not increase enough by November. Obama has done nothing to make poeple warm and fuzzy about their hope of increased income, nor has he committed any change of tactics to get people working.— Fisher
- Studies show that people do not seriously look (or accept a lower paying job) for work until their unemployemnt benefits are about to run out. If you keep extending the benefits then you are artificially extending high unemployment. It may not be politically correct to say during troubling economic times, but it is the truth. The ironic part is, the dems are going to pay at the polls in November for 9.6% unemployment & it is their own policies (again) causing the problem. Priceless.— NEPhilly
"each dollar spent by the government on jobless pay yields an overall return of $1.61 for the economy)." Color me skeptical.— jmc- Right now, people don't seem to trust ANYBODY to get things turned around quickly. The only plus for Obama is (& its not much), polls currently show they distrust him LESS than they do the 'Pubs or even 'Dems in Congress.— yobill626
Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
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