Stories

Temporary safety net or permanent entitlement program? That’s the question some conservative voices are asking as Congress eyes yet another filing extension for federal unemployment benefits.

When the stimulus was the talk of the town, some women piped up to note that the stimulus funds were seemingly targeted at male unemployment, only to be told that men were disproportionately unemployed. And while there’s been plenty of reporting on how the stimulus has given short shrift to African-Americans, J. Goodrich at Alternet [...]

Thousands of Iowans — and 1.2 million Americans – will exhaust their unemployment benefits Sunday unless an extension can be passed in the U.S. Senate, something becoming less and less likely.
In addition to hurting Iowa families who are counting on the benefits, Congress’ failure to pass an extension could have a dramatically negative impact on [...]

Federal stimulus dollars for Iowa’s unemployment insurance system boosted the state’s economy by over $500 million and more than 3,700 jobs in 2009, with continuing benefits into 2010, according to a new analysis of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Here’s a profound idea from California GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who went after congressional Republicans Sunday for criticizing the Democrats’ stimulus bill one moment, then taking credit for the money the legislation is providing their districts the next. From ABC’s “This Week:”

In the first year of the federal stimulus program, food assistance increases alone have boosted economic activity and income, and saved or created jobs in Iowa, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Iowa Fiscal Partnership.

A great piece in The Washington Times Tuesday reveals a remarkable degree of hypocrisy from some GOP critics of last year’s $787 billion economic stimulus bill.

Here are two coinciding stories that indicate just how far removed public opinion is from economic reality. (1) The Democrats’ $787 billion economic stimulus bill has saved or created 1.2 million jobs, USA Today reported today, a median figure based on a survey of 50 leading economists. And (2) 74 percent of Americans think that [...]

The failure of Washington lawmakers to recognize the severity of the Great Recession has slowed the recovery and allowed unemployment to reach double-digit levels, according to some of the nation’s leading economists.
The experts hope that the latest effort — in the form of a new “jobs bill” being crafted by Democratic leaders — will not [...]

Provisions of the federal economic recovery legislation passed earlier this year are protecting an estimated 40,000 Iowans from living in poverty, according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The nonpartisan Washington, D.C.,-based research and policy institute found that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is “softening the recession’s impact [...]