Members of Congress talking about shutting the government down until they can extend tax cuts for the wealthy are "in denial, blinded by their greed," says Constance Kaplan, "They're not concerned with us." Connie is a law librarian who's worked for JP Morgan Chase, among other companies, and is a '99er'--she's been unemployed for over 99 weeks and has thus lost all government unemployment benefits.
Connie joins us in studio to discuss the government's inattention to job creation, and Edrie Irvine joins us via Skype--a legal secretary, she is also unemployed and is nearing the expiration on her own benefits. They fill us in on what it's like on the job hunt after over a year, and what unemployed workers are doing to get organized.
[...] You can watch the full interview here. [...]
By Getting Your Class War On: The 99ers « Socialism and… on December 3rd, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Thanks, Connie & Edrie for representing the unemployed – and particularly for representing the 99ers.
Thanks Ms. Flanders & Grit TV for telling this story.
Denver Unemployment Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/unemployment-in-denver/kelly-wiedemer
By KWiedemer on December 3rd, 2010 at 5:03 pm
I guess Senator Bernie Sanders is the only populist left
in the Senate.
By elkojohn on December 3rd, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I totally agree – giving money to the uber-rich in the form of tax breaks will NOT affect the economy at all. But giving money to the unemployed will flow immediately into the economy. What don’t the politicians understand?
Also, extending tax breaks to the middle class won’t help the unemployed help the economy – they don’t pay taxes.
I wish Bernie Sanders was MY senator. I’m so proud of him. A voice in the growing darkness known as government.
By Dahlia on December 8th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Thank you GRITtv for having the courage and the boldness to report the 99ers true story. So many in the media are hell bent on reporting inaccurate, and often harsh stories about the long-term unemployed. There is no way to express our sincerest appreciation and gratefulness.
On Thursday night, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow also took a bold step and asked the White House’s economic advisor, Austan Goolsbee about the 99ers. It was amazing! Put the guy on the spot – please watch the short 1- minute clip in the video which put the 99er issue ‘front & center’ – as well as the Obama administration’s inaction on this issue:
http://www.examiner.com/unemployment-in-denver/maddow-boldly-moves-the-99er-issue-to-the-forefront-join-the-99ers-new-effort
Denver Unemployment Examiner
By Kelly Wiedemer on December 11th, 2010 at 9:50 am
the unemployed who are recieving benefits DO pay taxes. they have either 10% taken off each check or they pay at tax time.
By mudd on December 11th, 2010 at 10:28 am