99ers Demand Letter FINAL

_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
The Honorable_____________
_________________________
_________________________
Dated:____________________
Dear _____________________:
As your constituents, we are very concerned that the legislative agenda for the upcoming "Lame Duck"
session of Congress does not include passage of S.3706, which provides an additional 20 weeks of
unemployment insurance (UI), for the 99ers and all exhaustees; people like us and the approximately 3.3
million unemployed1 currently cut off from UI. 99ers are Americans who were laid off during the first
days of the Great Recession and have exhausted all our UI and no longer receive a check. Many of us
have been without any income for months. Despite our best efforts and willingness to work - at any job -
as the weeks have turned into months, we realize there are no jobs for us in the current economy, and fear
that our elected leaders have forgotten us. We want a job, not a check, but S.3706 will provide a vital
band-aid for us and the millions more who will join our beleaguered and forgotten ranks on November
30th, when funding for current recipients of UI expires.
The 2010 mid-terms have come and gone. According to exit polls, neither party should read too much
into their "repudiation" or their" mandate." The only clear conclusion is that Americans are concerned
about jobs and the economy, and they want somebody to do something about it, now! Members of both
parties have pledged to find "common ground". There is no better place to start than with S3706, which
would extend UI to all Americans who are currently unemployed and otherwise eligible for UI.
Democrats, Republicans, and economists all agree on the importance of unemployment insurance. The
CBO has rated “increasing aid to the uninsured” as one of the most effective ways to stimulate the
economy, with a 60% return on every dollar invested.2 Conversely, the CBO rates tax breaks as one of
the least effective economic stimulants. Moreover, extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest
Americans would cost an estimated $700 billion, before deficit financing. 3 S.3706 would cost a fraction
of that. In addition, UI saves people from poverty; in 2009, 3.3 million Americans were kept out of
poverty because of a UI check.4 It's time to stop the arguing, get on with the compromising, and pass
S.3706 and extend current UI legislation!
While this debate has raged in Washington, about spending, tax cuts, and mortgaging our children and
grandchildren's future with a ballooning debt, the millions of 99ers, exhaustees and unemployed
Americans aren't "mortgaging" our children's future; we are being forced to destroy it. We are draining
college funds, 401ks, and retirement savings just to maintain a roof over our families' heads and food on
our tables. We have downsized, sold our valued possessions, sold computers, furniture, anything we can,
to survive. Many of us have lost our homes, destroyed our credit, and, most heartbreaking of all, seen our
children taken into the foster care system, simply because we are now so poor. Some of us are lucky
1
EPI study: http://epi.3cdn.net/3c3b354ccf472d1659_kdm6b9kde.pdf
2
Congressional Budget Office, Presentation to the Forecasters Club: The Economic Outlook
and Options for Fiscal Policy, October 27, 2010
3
Center for American Progress estimate
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/07/let_cuts_expire.html
4
National Employment Law Project Report
http://nelp.3cdn.net/0e404890d4fcffaec3_ycm6bnaye.pdf
1
enough to be able to stay with friends or live in our cars. Some of us have seen no way out and taken our
own lives. We have seen our UI expire and the unemployment rate remain at record levels, with no hope
of a turn around in sight. Despite the mountains of resumes we have sent, we watch page after page on
the calendar flip by without being able to find a job and restore the American Dream we have spent our
lives building.
The unemployed, as a voting bloc, are neither red nor blue; nor are we red or black ink on the
government's balance sheet. We are not numbers with decimal points and percentage signs from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. We are living, breathing Americans with families who, through no fault of
our own, find ourselves on the frontlines of the worst economic downturn in generations. We are the
victims, not the problem, and we deserve the support of our government in these hard times. Our tax
dollars helped pay for bailing out the banks, yet the unemployed, and especially 99ers, like us, are either
ignored or accused of being lazy, unemployable, drug users, potential thieves, violent, and wanting a hand
out.
We have done everything right. The older among us have worked all our lives, saved, raised our kids and
paid our taxes; the younger among us have worked hard to educate ourselves and prepare for our turn at
finding our own American Dream. The social safety net of unemployment insurance is far from a
hammock, it's often just barely enough to keep the lights on. As Americans, we have a right to expect at
least this from our elected representatives, especially considering that we provide you with a comfortable
salary, pension, and free health care for you and your family.
There is no reason that the upcoming Holiday Season, in the richest, most powerful nation on the globe,
should resemble a 21st century version of a Dickens novel. No matter whose ideology wins out to
stimulate job growth, one thing is clear: If millions of Americans are forced to go through the holidays
with no job prospects and no money, the existing resentment of government, as expressed by the anti-
incumbent sentiment at the polls on November 2, will grow. Faith in our economic system will erode. A
national news network has even speculated on the possibility of violent unrest among the unemployed, 5
and several states have chosen to place armed guards at their unemployment offices. Is this the America
the Greatest Generation fought for and built? Is this the America our brave soldiers fight for today? Is
this the America we want to leave for our children? Politicians can no longer salve these wounds with
promises and platitudes; millions can not be expected to sit idly by as their government literally forces us
into poverty. 'Kicking the can down the road' is no longer an option for Congress; there must be action -
now.
What we are witnessing is the melt-down of the middle class, right before our eyes. Together, we can stop
it. We are willing to do our part, but you must do yours. Respectfully, on behalf of all 99ers and
exhaustees, we demand that you co-sponsor, fight for and pass Tier V legislation. Congress must do
what is morally right and fiscally possible; S3706 should be the first order of business when it reconvenes
for the Lame Duck session. Millions of Americans can't wait any longer. Thank you, in advance, for
taking action on this vital legislation.
Respectfully Submitted,
___________________
5
“America’s Unemployed Getting Dangerous?” aired Nov 3 on Follow the Money with Eric
Bolling http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/follow-money/index.html#/v/4402292/americas-
unemployed-getting-dangerous/?playlist_id=158277

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