Shawn Slonsky’s children know by now not to give him Christmas lists filled with the latest gizmos. The 44-year-old union electrician is one of nearly 2 million Americans whose extended unemployment benefits will run out this month, making the holiday season less about celebration than survival.
“We’ll put up decorations, but we just don’t have the money for a Christmas tree,” Slonsky said.
Benefits that had been extended up to 99 weeks started running out Wednesday. Unless Congress approves a longer extension, the Labor Department estimates about 2 million people will be cut off by Christmas.
Support groups for the so-called 99ers have sprung up online, offering chances to vent along with tips on resumes and job interviews. Advocacy groups such as the National Employment Law Project have turned their plight into a rallying cry for Congress to extend jobless benefits.
Things used to be different for Slonsky, who lives in Massillon, Ohio. Before work dried up, he earned about $100,000 a year. He and his wife lived in a three-bedroom house where deer meandered through the backyard.
Then they lost their jobs. Their house went into foreclosure, and they had to move in with his 73-year-old father. Now, Slonsky is dreading the holidays as his 99 weeks run out.
“It’s hard to be in a jovial mood all the time when you’ve got this storm cloud hanging over your head,” he said.
The average weekly unemployment benefit in the U.S. is $302.90, though it varies widely depending on how states calculate the payment. Because of supplemental state programs and other factors, it’s hard to know for sure who will lose their benefits at any given time.
Congressional opponents of extending the benefits beyond this month say fiscal responsibility should come first. Republicans in the House and Senate, along with a handful of conservative Democrats, say they’re open to extending benefits but not if it means adding to the $13.8 trillion national debt.
U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., the No. 3 Republican in the House, said extended benefits must be paid for now, rather than later, if they’re going to win support from fiscal conservatives.
“The fact that we have to keep extending unemployment benefits shows that the economic policies of this administration have failed,” said Pence spokeswoman Courtney Kolb.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told The Associated Press on Wednesday that declining to extend the benefits would be a mistake for Congress.
“This is a bad way to start off the new, incoming season of new politicians that said that they wanted to make government work for people in a better way,” she said.
Even if Congress does lengthen benefits, cash assistance is at best a stopgap measure, said Carol Hardison, executive director of Crisis Assistance Ministry in Charlotte, N.C., which has seen 20,000 new clients since the Great Recession started in December 2007.
“We’re going to have to have a new conversation with the people who are still suffering, about the potentially drastic changes they’re going to have to make to stay out of the homeless shelter,” she said.
Forget Christmas presents. What the 99ers want most of all is what remains elusive in the worst economy in generations: a job.
Wayne Pittman has been telling his family not to expect much for Christmas either.
The 46-year-old carpenter, along with his wife and 9-year-old son, has stopped going to movies and restaurants and buying new clothes. With his $297 weekly checks gone, holiday gifts are definitely out.
“It’s not in our budget,” Pittman said. “I have a little boy, and that’s kind of hard to explain to him. To try to let him know, certain things he’s not going to be getting.”
