More than 2 million workers who have been laid off for long stretches could get their unemployment benefits restored as early as next week

I know why it takes elections to generate enough interest in those suffering along through "unenjoyment " to restore or extend their benefits; it's all about trying to get votes, we all know that.

What I don't know or understand is how anyone can argue against providing unemployment benefits to people who have lost their jobs and are actively seeking alternative employment opportunities.

The sheer idiocy of comments like the one GOP Sen. Kyl tossed onto the Senate floor during a debate - "Unemployment Benefits Make People Not Want To Get A Job" - gives me at least an inkling into the stinkling thinkling some have when it comes to this issue, but in every single case I've had in front of me over the past year, not one of those persons was making a go of it on their unemployment bennies when compared to what their salaries were when they were working full time.  In fact, the very vast majority of them were in my office with eviction and cutoff notices, hoping we'd be able to provide at least a little relief as they downsized their lives and eliminated every budget item that wasn't an absolute necessity in their lives.

I was discussing this issue with a colleague the other day and the conversation eventually settled on the idea that we will never understand this kind of thinking, since it defies the rational, logical mind, especially if one has had the opportunity to work with people who are barely surviving on their benefits and who are desperately trying to find work before the money runs out completely.  It's akin to the rational mind trying to understand what motivates a child molester, a rapist, an arsonist, a murderer, it's so out of the scope of logic, compassion and respect for one's fellow human neighbors in this world that it defies the ability to grasp it enough to create a rationalization.

I don't mean to call Senatory Kyl any of these things and I certainly don't intend to suggest his statement is on par with the heinousness of these acts.  I'm merely arguing here that it's as impossible for me to understand his thought process here as it is for me to understand why someone would commit a serious crime against another human being.

And what's even scarier to me is the fact that it's not just Sen Kyl who thinks like this, but apparently so too do enough Americans - my fellow countrymen and women who most certainly have in at least some way been negatively impacted by the current economic situation in the United States - to get this guy elected into political office.

I guess ultimately this bring me to the conclusion that ignorance breeds contempt and at times, gross incompetence and stupidity in terms of actions either taken or prohibited.  That we need education and awareness on a scale so large that it reaches the entire nation is a task so daunting to lil ol me that I can barely fathom that, either.  But rather than giving up and sticking my gnarled old head in the sand, like so many of us do on issues like this, I'm saying something about it.  Raising awareness, dontchakno, because I believe that even if we've got to do this - raise awareness and understanding - one person at a time, it's too important to ignore because so many are counting on us to provide a voice that's been silenced by poverty....

Senate Close to Restoring Jobless Benefits As Midterm Election Approaches

Friday, July 16, 2010
By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press

Washington (AP) - More than 2 million workers who have been laid off for long stretches could get their unemployment benefits restored as early as next week.

The Senate plans to take up a measure Tuesday to restore the extended benefits, right after a new Democratic senator from West Virginia is sworn in, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday.

With the death of Sen. Robert Byrd, Senate Democrats had been a vote short of the 60 needed to overcome a GOP filibuster. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has said he could name a temporary replacement to fill Byrd's seat as early as Friday.

The House already has passed a bill to extend the benefits through November, at a cost of about $34 billion. The money would be borrowed, adding to the national debt.

About 2.5 million people have lost their benefits since the last extension ran out at the end of May. The bill would add up to 73 weeks of extra benefits, paid for by the federal government, on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states.

Reid, D-Nev., said Byrd's replacement will be sworn in Tuesday afternoon, and a bill to extend the jobless benefits will be up for a vote immediately afterward.

Lawmakers have been sparring for weeks over extending the benefits. Some Democrats have argued that lawmakers have a moral obligation to extend the benefits while the unemployment rate hovers above 9 percent. Many Democrats also see the benefits as insurance against the economy sliding back into recession because laid off workers typically spend their payments quickly, stimulating the economy.

Republicans, tapping into voter anger about the growing national debt, said they would support extending the benefits if the bill was paid for. They have proposed using unspent money from President Barack Obama's massive 2009 economic recovery package, a plan Democrats oppose