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Should long-term unemployment benefits expire?

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    Debate over future of program

  • Duration 2:53
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-- -- -- More than two million and the long term unemployed could lose their unemployment benefits and the engineering questions remain about whether or not a deal will be reached his.

As part of the fiscal cliff negotiations to extend those benefits and some wonder if more extensions are actually a good thing right now on the economy.

Christian -- -- from the Economic Policy Institute Daniel Mitchell a senior fellow at the Cato Institute joining us -- -- you say.

I hear we're those that say listen maybe we shouldn't extend unemployment at this time right now in this economy why not.

Well -- I don't want to sound like Scrooge so what I'll do is I'll quote Paul Krugman and Larry Summers sent to very left wing economists or recent research.

By the San Francisco -- -- our bank.

They all come to the same conclusion.

The more you pay people to be jobless the more likely they are to be jobless and the academic researchers pretty clear that you actually extend and -- Periods of unemployment by providing these subsidies now I agree government should do something.

But don't extend unemployment benefits -- -- pro growth policies so that we get more job creation because that's what we'll help these people the most.

And Christian let's talk a little bit more about that it used to be during the financial crisis that state and federal unemployment benefits would give you got 99 weeks of unemployment right now our longest in our country is around 83 weeks.

In the -- New York what do you think is reasonable right now.

Well look there there were the reason that we have these extended federal unemployment benefits is because we still have incredibly high rates of joblessness I certainly agree that we need a pro growth pro jobs agenda but in the meantime for those people -- currently affected.

There needs to be something that allows them to participate fully.

In the economy and in society.

So you're talking about a very real economic need with such -- rates of unemployment -- higher rates of long term unemployment to continue these federal unemployment extension.

What do you think about that Christian makes the point that these people do not get benefits and they can't participate in the economy began can't go Christmas shopping I will call you Scrooge but let's just say -- this is still the holiday season.

-- what about that what about that that that's when a deal.

I'll simply looking at the empirical evidence I guess you could call it a tough love approach.

If people get these unemployment benefits they sort of -- -- can hold out for a better job I can wait a little longer to look for a job pack up.

I've known people I went to college with and and used unemployment benefits as basically an excuse not to get a job for thirteen 26 weeks whatever the period was.

Now obviously if you find an example of the family with a couple of kids that's a lot harder.

Harder luck story that is just some single guy -- is -- off through life watching.

ES -- -- that -- doing all eyes wet now I'm just -- Manipulated -- and partially Christian were short a time that I gave me that the response and that's the first response next time could have let Debbie both.

Back to talk about this is a big issue -- -- million Americans it's an important one thank you both very much.

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