Bill Would Cut Jobless Benefits for Millionaires

A bill in Congress would end jobless benefits to those earning over $1 million.

By Chris Roberts
|  Tuesday, Dec 13, 2011  |  Updated 3:05 PM PDT
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Cutting Unemployment for Rich

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Fewer transactions like these between the government and rich folk are planned, under a bill in Congress.

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Millionaires are people, too.  If you live in the Bay Area you probably know one, or live next to one or are related to one.  That's because Silicon Valley is home to one of the largest population of millionaires in the country.

And it won't come as a surprise that even millionaires can lose their jobs.

But, do they need to collect unemployment?

Well, they are getting it. A total of $74 million in jobless benefits was collected by millionaires between 2005 and 2009.

It's not quite a tax-the-rich scheme, but a Republican bill in Congress would tax unemployment benefits up to 100 percent for those earning $750,000. The bill represents a growing urge on both sides of the aisle to prove to lower- and middle-class Americans that the rich are doing their part, too, according to the New York Times.

The bill will be voted on as early as today.

It  would phase out entirely jobless benefits for those with gross adjusted incomes of over $1 million, the paper reported.

Apparently for good measure, it would also make Americans with gross adjusted income more than $1 million no longer eligible for food stamps.

Posted Dec 13, 2011
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