Here comes the benefits cliff

Full speed ahead into the abyss, I guess.

Hundreds of thousands of Louisianans who’ve lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic have continued to receive sizable weekly checks, thanks to a federal $600-a-week boost to the state’s unemployment benefits.

But with the extra aid set to vanish in two and a half weeks — dropping the state’s maximum unemployment insurance benefit from $847 per week to just $247 — scores of workers are bracing for a huge blow to their income and stressing over how to pay bills.

Not sure about that "sizable" bit.  Maybe not the best way to describe the precarity to which these hundreds of thousands of workers in Louisiana have been subjected.  $600 a month with a hard expiration date doesn't sound like anyone's getting any special favors. They got mad at me for pointing this out yesterday but the way we talk about these policies in the media matters.  Working class people are being utterly abused by a saftety-net-in-name-only that is specifically designed to humiliate and intimidate them. It's important to avoid the pretense that they should be grateful for that.  Last month, the Advocate referred to the expanded benefits as "generous." We'll be sure and send Mitch McConnell a thank you card. 

Maybe we are picking at nits. But, as yesterday's story goes on to point out, Republicans in Washington, who are dragging their feet about extending benefits, are explicitly arguing that millions of laid off Americans have it too good right now. 

So far, there’s been little progress in Washington D.C. on a new aid package. Serious talks have yet to begin between the Democrat-controlled House and GOP Senate over possible proposals, and it’s unclear whether Republicans would support another round of expanded unemployment benefits.

Many Republicans have criticized the federal supplement, saying it is too generous and has incentivized many workers to stay home instead of returning to their jobs, since many lower-wage Americans have ended up making more each week than they earned while working full time.

We still don't even know if Congress will approve a new round of one-time relief checks like the ones sent out to many Americans a few months ago.  Back in May, when Sen. John Kennedy was asked about a second stimulus, he told us "People in Hell want ice water."  Well, John, we are in Hell. I mean, people in the Arctic want ice water right now.  And still, whatever relief Americans get looks right now like it will be less than the already insufficient previous round of checks.

Anyway if Republicans really thought the problem with this tenuous allowance is that it is too generous to compete with what people were making at work, then maybe it's time to talk about why more than 30 million Americans currently claiming benefits haven't been afforded a living wage. Of course they don't care about that. It's central to the right wing project that we maintain a large pool of unemployed or underemployed workers who are insecure enough to work for practically nothing when needed. If there's no one holding enough power to force the US Congress toward a different policy then this is fine for them. They are there to protect the bosses. Right now the bosses are winning. There's almost no incentive for anyone on their side to budge.

Up until this this week, I had all but convinced myself maybe there would be just enough fear of the fall elections to get a last minute extension of benefits through.  But I'm starting to see how a second stimulus check might provide just enough political cover to let the UI benefits expire anyway. Forcing people to "just get used to" worsening conditions is too high on the Republican list of priorities. They're not going to just let an opportunity like this pass without a fight.