THE GOP EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT WHIFF

Okay, Kiddies. I get that every time Obama opens his mouth, the market drops. I get that there is very real fear we simply don't have the monetary horsepower for WPA now. Perhaps the recent BHO speech was a bit impractical. Still, on the Extended Unemployment Front, the GOP position harkens back to the "Know-Nothing" party.

The GOP seems to view unemployed folks as loafers. For the most part, they're not. They're displaced folks with obsolete skills, the victims of runaway shops or (now) they used to be valued employees of the giant ATM known as Bank of America.

But none of that is the key. The key is simply that unemployed people spend 100% of any benefit they receive--because they have no choice--in their communities, and immediately. Unemployment benefits are the ultimate shovel-ready project. They get the benefit and they shovel it into the barber shops, grocery stores, gas stations and auto repair shops in their communities. If you're looking for stimulation, this is the one.

Too bad the Repubs are caught in their own fictional construct on this one.