Editorial: Extend jobless benefits again

Millions of out-of-work people will find it tough to make ends meet unless Congress reauthorizes the extended unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of the year.

This is no time to cut off checks to the more than 2 million long-term unemployed whose benefits will end by mid-February without the federal extension, or to limit benefits for the newly jobless to 26 weeks rather than the current 99 weeks. And with the economic recovery fragile at best, it's no time to abandon the stimulus provided by the $50 billion a year in unemployment checks. Congress should reauthorize this vital lifeline.

The payroll tax break, also set to expire at the end of the year, is a different matter. Temporarily shaving the tax employees pay from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent put an additional $1,000 into the average worker's pocket last year, and pumped about $110 billion into the sluggish economy. But it should not be extended through 2012.

The payroll tax funds Social Security, a program that can't afford the financial drain. The new tax on income of more than $1 million that Democrats are pushing to make up for the lost revenue is pointless, since Republicans are adamantly opposed.

This tax break was always supposed to be temporary. Given that political reality, and the federal government's deficits and debt, Congress should end the tax break for people with jobs and continue the critical compensation for those without them.