Kasich Buckeyes Over The Unemployed

Ohio has a 9% unemployment rate, you say?  Why, let's leave $176 million in already appropriated federal money on the table and cut off people on extended federal jobless benefits instead.

Ohio faces its final deadline to expand its unemployment benefits program. If state officials choose to do so, the state is eligible for $176 million in unemployment insurance funds made available in the 2009 Recovery Act to states that broaden their unemployment programs.


However, despite a steadily increasing unemployment rate that is currently at 9 percent, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) has failed to apply for the federal funds. His reasoning? Extending unemployment compensation “makes no sense“

Yep.  Ohio Republicans are leaving two-thirds of the federal money for extended federal benefits because they don't want to do any of the following:

To receive the remaining two-thirds, the state would have to choose two options from among several: Allow people seeking part-time work to qualify for benefits, extend benefits to those in approved job training programs, increase the allowance for dependents, and provide benefits to people who leave work for certain family reasons, such as domestic violence or transfer of a spouse.

You see, to Kasich and Ohio Republicans, none of those options makes any sense.  So Ohio's long-term unemployed are going to get cut off in an economic recession because it's more fun to blame Obama instead, even though by taking the money and paying down the state's debt, it would save Ohio taxpayers millions in lower interest payments.

But attacking Obama in Ohio is more important than Ohio's long-term unemployed. That makes tons of sense.