One of the most pernicious lies peddled by Republicans has to do with the idea its fault of the unemployed that they are out of work, and that by extending unemployment insurance, you increase unemployment by removing the incentive to work.
This denigration of the unemployed can be seen today as part of the Republican's vicious assault on #occupywallstreet - their assertion that it's the protesters' own fault that they don't have jobs. As Tea Party presidential candidate of the month Herman Cain recently pronounced to #occupywallstreet:
"If you don't have a job and you are not rich, blame yourself!
Like just about every other time Republicans have claimed that it's necessary to punish American workers in order to improve the economy, objective data is proving them wrong.
An overlooked study from the Department of Labor asserts that unemployment insurance, in addition to what it provides for those thrown out of work, saves literally millions of other jobs. More below.
Long term Republican opposition to extending unemployment insurance is well-documented. Senator Jon Kyl summarized their reasoning when he claimed that extending unemployment insurance actually increases joblessness:
[Unemployment compensation] doesn't create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work.
In fact, the study conducted by IMPAQ International for the Labor Department examined unemployment insurance and its effect on the economy during the initial downturn in the economy from 2008-mid 2010 and found:
-- By allowing the unemployed to keep buying goods and support businesses, about 1.6 million jobs per quarter were saved that would been lost otherwise.
-- Spending on unemployment had a multiplier effect of 2.0, meaning that for every dollar spent on unemployment insurance, the report found an increase in economic activity of two dollars.
-- From the start of the recession through mid-2010, unemployment insurance kept our GDP $310 billion higher than it would have been otherwise.
This data is not new - the study came out almost a year ago. But it's worth having these facts on hand any time you hear someone say that we shouldn't be encouraging joblessness by extending benefits, that we can't afford to extend benefits, or, worst of all, that it's the fault of the jobless that they're out of work. Ask such a person if Americans just suddenly got lazy in 2008. And then send them the Department of Labor study.