Calif. unemployment checks might stop for all next week, state warns

[Newsjock]

http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=147839

The state's Employment Development Department is racing to put together letters to 1.2 million Californians receiving unemployment checks -- notifying them their money may stop coming if the debt crisis isn't resolved in Washington D.C. by Tuesday.

It's possible $320 million dollars a week in benefits would abruptly stop because the program has been running on federal loans since January 2009.

"We don't have a reserve in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund," said EDD spokeswoman Loree Levy. "It's about $8.5 billion in the hole right now. We don't have that kind of backing to pay those payments right now."

... Besides unemployment checks, public schools are worried they won't be able to provide the federally-funded free lunches any more. Sometimes it's the only hot meal low-income kids get.

[uppityperson]

1. Are public schools in school right now?

[msongs]

2. some are starting up first week in august around here nt

[uppityperson]

3. thank you, earlier than I expected. K&r for unemployment checks and kids lunches

[XemaSab]

4. So more than one in ten Californians

will be effectively homeless on the street with no food next week 'cause the feds and the state can't get their shit together.

Great. :eyes:

[FirstLight]

5. ya, and then TANF & Foodstamps, right?

wondering if/when the shit is gonna hit the fan next week...
i just got a PT job but that only pays 400/mo and i can;t live without the help we get

if it all REALLY goes to shit and there seems to be no resolution for months on tap......I will ask my parents to consider gifting some cash and close all bank accts, etc

maybe this is the way we all get 'off entitlements'...right? they just shut down the programs...

[stopbush]

6. What really sucks about this is that CA sends over $48-Billion a year to DC

that gets redistributed to other mostly red states to fund THEIR unemployment programs, to run their school systems and to build their pork barrel bridges to nowhere.

CA currently gets 75¢ back for every $1 we send to DC in Fed taxes, while states like NM get over $2 back for every $1 they send to DC. Currently, only 13 states in this Union pay out more to the Feds than they get back. The other 37 states exist as freeloader states, taking the tax monies paid by the citizens of CA, NY, NJ and a few other blue states and diverting those taxes into their own coffers via the Feds. Their pockets full of $ from CA, they then feel free to turn around and call CA "dis-functional," and "unable to get their fiscal house in order." Such bullshit.

the fact is that if CA got $1 back for every $1 we sent the Feds, we'd be running surpluses, even with our high unemployment rate. Indeed, the state would have more than enough $ on hand to stimulate the economy by creating government jobs to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. But it's easier to rag on CA and blame our problems on "the illegals" and "the libruls," rather than dealing with reality.