More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

by Ben Reilly Thu May 07, 2020 9:12 pm

A further 3.2 million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week as the economic toll from the coronavirus pandemic continued to mount.
The new applications brought the total number of jobless claims since mid-March to 33.3 million- or about 20% of the US workforce.
The number of new claims reported each week by the Department of Labor has subsided since hitting a peak of 6.9 million in March.
But they remain extraordinarily high.
And the number of people collecting benefits has continued to rise, despite recent moves to start re-opening in some parts of the country.
"The significant rise in continuing claims ... is a little disappointing since it suggests few people are being recalled to work," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52570600
Relief efforts must be better than cutting Americans a one-off check for $1,200 -- but Trump has vowed there will be no more help.

by Guest Thu May 07, 2020 9:53 pm

Another failing argument and political scoring off a crises

Is the point here to blame this on trump?

Are you that pathetic Ben?

I just had a debate with some far left friends and they admitted they would be happy to see the loss of life to end capitalism

What does that say to you here on how politicians and those whop aspire to be, never do maths?

How we are all cannon fodder?

Do not get me wrong the right and the left fucked up here.

by Guest Thu May 07, 2020 9:57 pm

Thorin wrote:Another failing argument and political scoring off a crises

Is the point here to blame this on trump?

Are you that pathetic Ben?

I just had a debate with some far left friends and they admitted they would be happy to see the loss of life to end capitalism

What does that say to you here on how politicians and those whop aspire to be, never do maths?

How we are all cannon fodder?

Do not get me wrong the right and the left fucked up here.

So what is the real percentage of people now out of work due to this?

What was it before and what would you have done differently Ben?

Close borders?

by Ben Reilly Thu May 07, 2020 10:04 pm

Thorin wrote:Another failing argument and political scoring off a crises

Is the point here to blame this on trump?

Are you that pathetic Ben?

I just had a debate with some far left friends and they admitted they would be happy to see the loss of life to end capitalism

What does that say to you here on how politicians and those whop aspire to be, never do maths?

How we are all cannon fodder?

Do not get me wrong the right and the left fucked up here.

There's plenty of blame for Trump here, but my point is that with that many people out of work, government help has to be better than one measly check. 33 million people aren't going to get by on $1,200 when they can't find work.

You don't have to ask me if I'm pathetic and get so aggressive right off the bat, you know.

by Ben Reilly Thu May 07, 2020 10:08 pm

Thorin wrote:
Thorin wrote:Another failing argument and political scoring off a crises

Is the point here to blame this on trump?

Are you that pathetic Ben?

I just had a debate with some far left friends and they admitted they would be happy to see the loss of life to end capitalism

What does that say to you here on how politicians and those whop aspire to be, never do maths?

How we are all cannon fodder?

Do not get me wrong the right and the left fucked up here.

So what is the real percentage of people now out of work due to this?

What was it before and what would you have done differently Ben?

Close borders?

I wouldn't have told people that C-19 is no worse than the flu; I wouldn't have dismantled the pandemic response team; I wouldn't have told people that warm weather was going to kill off the virus; there are a lot of things Trump did that I wouldn't do. I would have been strict about international travel, of course -- maybe more than Trump has been.

Trump is making decisions largely for political motives -- this is too serious a problem to let politics play any role.

by Guest Thu May 07, 2020 10:09 pm

Ben Reilly wrote:
Thorin wrote:Another failing argument and political scoring off a crises

Is the point here to blame this on trump?

Are you that pathetic Ben?

I just had a debate with some far left friends and they admitted they would be happy to see the loss of life to end capitalism

What does that say to you here on how politicians and those whop aspire to be, never do maths?

How we are all cannon fodder?

Do not get me wrong the right and the left fucked up here.

There's plenty of blame for Trump here, but my point is that with that many people out of work, government help has to be better than one measly check. 33 million people aren't going to get by on $1,200 when they can't find work.

You don't have to ask me if I'm pathetic and get so aggressive right off the bat, you know.

There is only blame what people see based on their political affiliations

We know from intelligence services the Chinese authorities attempted to censure this Ben

There is only one blame with many branches of this with blame

The Chinese authority is to blame. They knew back in august the previous year

You could argue deaths could be higher under a woke President?

As it would mean enacting countless illiberal ideals

by Guest Thu May 07, 2020 10:12 pm

Ben Reilly wrote:
Thorin wrote:

So what is the real percentage of people now out of work due to this?

What was it before and what would you have done differently Ben?

Close borders?

I wouldn't have told people that C-19 is no worse than the flu; I wouldn't have dismantled the pandemic response team; I wouldn't have told people that warm weather was going to kill off the virus; there are a lot of things Trump did that I wouldn't do. I would have been strict about international travel, of course -- maybe more than Trump has been.

Trump is making decisions largely for political motives -- this is too serious a problem to let politics play any role.

Warm weather will kill off the virus faster and why nations like Australia suffer less through this

I am sure there is many things you would do in hindsight

As that is all you have to go on

Would you have allowed the borders to remain open for example?

by Ben Reilly Thu May 07, 2020 10:35 pm

Like I said, I might have been more strict about who's let into the country than Trump has been. For example, he didn't restrict travel from the UK for some reason (probably political) and the UK has turned out to have the most deaths from C-19 in Europe -- and American deaths are skyrocketing.

I would have followed the science -- strongly encouraging state governors to impose social distancing and to close all but essential businesses -- rather than encouraging Americans to protest lockdown measures, as Trump has done.

I would have spoken out against members of my party who said things like, "there are more important things than living" and that elderly people were willing to risk their lives so that the economy doesn't suffer.

I would have introduced something like the UK's furlough scheme, so that people don't have to go hungry while on lockdown, or lose their homes.

I would have quickly assembled a team of virologists, etc. to work non-stop on containing the virus and working on treatments.

There is currently no hard science that shows warm weather will slow the spread of the virus in real-life conditions. The only experiments that have been done have been in laboratory conditions, and we just don't know if , for example, crowding people into subways during summer won't be just as bad during winter.

But my point in this post is just that America has to do a better job of supporting citizens who are out of work.

by Guest Thu May 07, 2020 10:43 pm

You are still not grasping the point Ben

You would have no idea whether you would have done any of the above. You only say this in hindsight. Until you have been placed in that position. You can only imagine what this maybe like

Hence your answers are fake. Its again you speaking in hindsight. Not someone faced with actual peril in the decisions they make

THE FIRST THING YOU WOULD HAVE DONE IS ENSURED YOU AND EDDIE AND HER FAMILY WERE SAFE

THERE IS COUNTLESS EVIDENCE THAT HOTTER DRYER CLIMATES WILL STEM THE SPREAD OF VIRUSES

I would have rather seen honesty by you here Ben

Yet you speak in hindsight

So I will ask again, which you avoided.

Would you allow borders to remain open or control them?

by Ben Reilly Thu May 07, 2020 11:54 pm

Okay, I thought you meant what would I do if I were president. Of course I would have made sure my family was safe first.

I would, if I were president, have border controls tightened. People from C-19 hotspots would have to be tested, and I'd impose a self-quarantine rule as well.

But again, my point in this thread is that the U.S. government needs to do more for people who are out of work. That's all.

by Maddog Fri May 08, 2020 2:23 am

Ben Reilly wrote:
Thorin wrote:Another failing argument and political scoring off a crises

Is the point here to blame this on trump?

Are you that pathetic Ben?

I just had a debate with some far left friends and they admitted they would be happy to see the loss of life to end capitalism

What does that say to you here on how politicians and those whop aspire to be, never do maths?

How we are all cannon fodder?

Do not get me wrong the right and the left fucked up here.

There's plenty of blame for Trump here, but my point is that with that many people out of work, government help has to be better than one measly check. 33 million people aren't going to get by on $1,200 when they can't find work.

You don't have to ask me if I'm pathetic and get so aggressive right off the bat, you know.

As a former reporter, you should be better at research.

AUSTIN –The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) encourages those who have not yet applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) as a result of COVID-19 to apply now. Individuals affected by COVID-19 can apply for PUA benefits online through Unemployment Benefit Services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or by calling a TWC Tele-Center any day between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. at 800-939-6631.When applying, individuals affected by the pandemic should indicate that as the reason they lost their job.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits for persons impacted by COVID-19 and covers individuals who are self-employed, who otherwise would not qualify for regular unemployment compensation, or who have exhausted state benefits.

Additionally, TWC has begun rolling out the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), adding an additional $600 per week for claimants. Individuals receiving Unemployment Insurance (UI) or federal extended benefits qualify for the additional $600.

https://www.twc.texas.gov/news/pandemic-unemployment-assistance-and-600-federal-pandemic-unemployment-compensation-available-eligible-workers

My youngest, the only of my 3 daughters not working, is getting close to $750/week, which is more than she made while working as a waitress.

This will continue through July. Whether this is a good idea for the long term health of a country 26 trillion in debt is a another matter.

But, we can always worry about the debt later.

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More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

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Re: More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

Re: More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

Re: More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

Re: More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

Re: More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

Re: More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent

Re: More than 33 million Americans are out of work, driving unemployment up to 20 percent