Debt Battle Leads To Layoffs In Aviation And Beyond
Many factors have been holding down job creation this summer — everything from the extremely hot weather in many regions to the weak housing market in just about every city. Another factor dampening job growth has been the political battle over the nation's debt.
One example of how the Washington debate is hurting workers involves aviation. Amid the bickering over the debt ceiling earlier in July, Congress failed to pass a short-term extension of the Federal Aviation Administration's budget.
As a result, on July 23, the FAA's budget authorization expired and the agency had to lay off some 4,000 workers. Now the disruption is rippling out to contractors at airports around the country. For example, in Las Vegas, construction of a new air traffic control tower at McCarran International Airport is on hold for lack of FAA funding. That disruption has caused a cascade of construction layoffs.
Across the country, roughly 70,000 workers are expected to be idled by this FAA budget mess.
Many economists fear that when the Labor Department releases its monthly unemployment report on Friday, it will offer new signs that the U.S. economy is sliding back toward recession.
IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm, is predicting employers added only about 50,000 jobs during July, up from June's scant 18,000 new jobs. But even 50,000 jobs would be far below a level that would significantly improve the jobs outlook. About 14 million people are currently seeking jobs, so the economy needs to be adding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month to make a significant dent in the problem.
"We don't expect such a weak report as in June, [but] we look for another month of sluggish private employment growth and declining government employment," says IHS Global Insight's chief U.S. economist, Nigel Gault.
Even after the budget debates have settled out, government spending likely will be contracting at both the federal and state levels. That may mean fewer paychecks for all sorts of public-sector employees, from teachers to astronauts.
The debt-related uncertainty in financial markets is also indirectly hindering job growth by creating jitters among employers. Many of them are sitting on large amounts of cash, but are reluctant to plow it into expansions until they know financial markets will be operating smoothly in coming months and years.
Federal Extension For Unemployment - News
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas has had to put off a construction project because Congress failed to pass a short-term extension of the Federal Aviation Administration's budget. The hold-up has caused construction layoffs.
But other state employees were also laid off, including one person in the local ESC office who lost their position as federal stimulus funds ran out. Also, after the federal government terminated an extension of unemployment benefits for the long-term
California relies heavily on federal money when it comes to unemployment. The US government pays for a series of extensions to benefits. Loree Levy with the State Employment Development Department says it's unclear whether the
Last December's tax cut and unemployment extension compromise had even set a precedent for such an outcome: the deal reduced payroll tax rates by two percentage points on the employee side and continued emergency unemployment insurance through 2011 in
The vote will be whether "to concur with the Assembly's passage of" the 13-week extension of unemployment insurance benefits, said Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau. That version includes a week-long delay for the newly unemployed.
Are Democrats to blame for Republican inaction? | The Progressive
Just when you thought things in FitzWalkerstan couldn’t get any weirder, Republicans stepped in it again.
Wisconsin, much like the rest of the country, is suffering from severe unemployment. That’s why, several months ago when the federal government offered a 13 week extension for unemployment, Republican legislative leaders in Wisconsin should have been all over it like a Wisconsinite in a cheese curd eating contest.
Instead, Republicans were too busy crafting a budget that gave over $200 million in sweetheart tax breaks and loopholes to corporations while prohibiting the unemployed from receiving an unemployment check during the first week of their unemployment.
You see, Wisconsin believes that if you work hard and play by the rules, government should treat you fairly. That’s why we used to allow people who’ve paid into the unemployment insurance fund to draw out of that fund immediately after losing their job.
But that’s not how it works in FitzWalkerstan. In FitzWalkerstan, if you work hard and play by the rules but don’t have special interest campaign donations to buy you favor, Republicans stick it to you.
Meanwhile, those whose unemployment is about to run out are still waiting to see if their state government will accept the olive branch extended by the federal government so they can keep paying their mortgage and affording groceries for another 13 weeks.
So whose fault is the extension delay? The Republicans who control both state legislative chambers, the governor’s office and now the state’s Supreme Court? Not if you ask them. Just take it from Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who said, “If the Democrats hadn’t played their political games, the bill would have passed both houses and been sent to the governor last Wednesday, so to hear them criticize their own delay is the height of hypocrisy.”
Why does he feel Democrats were playing political games? Because on a bill to approve the federal extension, Democrats handed Republicans a gift by offering them the chance to fix their mistake, eliminating the one week waiting period for unemployment.
But wait, it gets better.
In an era of hyper partisanship, Republicans actually accepted the Democratic amendment. The next day, I spoke in favor of the bill on the floor of the Assembly, but to no avail. After the State Assembly, which is run by Fitzgerald’s younger brother, rejected the amendment, the bill is now back in the Senate’s lap and Senate Republicans are suddenly opposed to eliminating the first week’s unemployment.
Federal Extension For Unemployment - Bookshelf
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