There's no time like the present to fuck over the unemployed!

[Dappleganger]

Florida House Cuts Jobless Aid With Unemployment Above 11%

Florida’s Republican-controlled House passed a bill curbing unemployment benefits as the state announced its jobless rate remained above 11 percent for the 15th consecutive month.

The bill, which passed by 81 to 38 in Tallahassee today, would reduce benefit coverage to 20 weeks from 26 and cap the maximum weekly payment at the current $275. The measure now moves to the Senate, also led by Republicans.

“This bill is punitive to unemployed people at a time when there are no jobs,” Darryl Rouson, a Democrat from St. Petersburg, said during floor debate. “The timing is wrong.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-10/florida-house-cuts-jobless-aid-with-unemployment-above-11-.html

[RKP5637]

1. People get what they vote in ... n/t

[LonePirate]

2. It wouldn't surprise me if more Republican controlled legislatures do something similar

They transmit their bad ideas to ther states as if they were viruses. I expect those hate-filled corporatists to start selling this along the lines of cutting off "lazy" citizens and undocumented workers in order to give businesses more tax breaks.