if an unemployment extension is not included in the fiscal cliff deal, 2.1 million americans will face an immediate loss in federal unemployment insurance. it will result in a cut of $284 a week for the average beneficiary. and that s a lot of dough for the average american. it s important to keep in mind the unemployment cliff is really a cliff, urban a slope. tax increases and other spending cuts will fall into place over time. but not with unemployment insurance. unemployment americans who rely on federal aid will be cut off on january 1st, 2013. however, there is some good news on the unemployment front. the four-week average of job claims dropped to roughly 356,000. it s the lowest level since march 2008. but unfortunately, the national unemployment rate is still 7.7%. and if republicans in congress fail to accuracy millions of unemployed americans will be off to a very rough start for the
march 2008. but unfortunately, the national unemployment rate is still 7.7%. and if republicans in congress fail to accuracy millions of unemployed americans will be off to a very rough start for the new year. for more on this let s turn to the reverend dr. haines iii, senior pastor at friendship west baptist church. dr. haines, welcome to the show. thank you, professor dyson. isn t it ironic, dr. haines, through this entire debate the focus has been on the wealthiest americans paying more taxes, not people who will lose unemployment benefits come january 1st? you re the pastor of a huge church in dallas that talks about poverty and social injustice. what s your reaction to this? well, not only is it ironic. i think it s almost sinful, especially during this season where we have just celebrated the birth of one who was born homeless. i think that unfortunately if the wise men had been replaced by the speaker of the house as well as the senate minority leader, instead of he bearin
if congress does not act, it will mean that some 2 million people and their families will really be at a loss as to how to survive economically. if an unemployment extension is not included in the fiscal cliff deal, 2.1 million americans will face an immediate loss in federal unemployment insurance. it will result in a cut of $284 a week for the average beneficiary. and that s a lot of dough for the average american. it s important to keep in mind the unemployment cliff is really a cliff, urban a slope. tax increases and other spending cuts will fall into place over time. but not with unemployment insurance. unemployment americans who rely on federal aid will be cut off on january 1st, 2013. however, there is some good news on the unemployment front. the four-week average of job claims dropped to roughly 356,000. it s the lowest level since march 2008.
nordquist was going to stand up and say they raised taxes on the wealthy. at this point, they ve got the situation so backwards, that they re going to have to let the cliff kick in. let me ask you this quickly. we ve got some good economic news yesterday. weekly unemployment claims have fallen to the lowest since march, 2008. we ve seen some kind of recovery. well, we talk about it as a fiscal slope or what have jou. you talked before about unemployment insurance. on january 1, there will be millions of people that will be hurt. that i had re never going to get it back. and some of that is immediate. yes. and the people who have no say, people who live check-to-check, they can t have their pay can t have their unemployment benefits cut. even a small bit. there s going to be a lot of pain for millionsover people.
i think everybody can see that you re black. one of the ironies, i think, of my dear brother, barack obama, now president obama s victory, was that we have a relative moratorium on serious discussions of race. and that s partly because his strategy his strategy was to evade issues of race. but in march 2008, explosive videos of obama s pastor, jeremiah wright, hit the airwaves. no, no, no. not god bless america, god [ muted ] america! the reaction was damning. reverend wright had officiated at obama s wedding and baptized his children. their connection might have tagged obama as an angry black man, an image his campaign worked hard to avoid. the association threatened to derail everything. but obama seized the chance. to explain his ties to wright, he spoke to a broader, tougher topic race in america. the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect