With the appointment of an interim Senator in West Virginia,
Democrats in Washington are pushing through an extension on
unemployment benefits. Under current law, benefits run out after
99 weeks (up from a previous record high of 65 weeks in 1975).
There's valid argument that a compassionate society with a
dynamic economy should provide unemployment benefits, and a
legitimate debate regarding how much and how long. But recently,
some have gone beyond this and argued not only that these
benefits are necessary, but that they actually stimulate the
economy. Most notably, White House Economist Lawrence Summers
claims that not extending the unemployment benefit beyond almost
two years would cost the U.S. economy $10 billion and 100,000
jobs. Some center-left economists have calculated that Michigan
will miss out on $205.6 million in "economic stimulus." And
columnist Jackie Headapohl writes on Mlive.com that,
"Unemployment insurance puts money in the pockets of the
families most likely to spend the money — which i