THE ULTIMATE IRONY Mark Otto 1.27.2010

In what may be the ultimate irony, money from the failed stimulus bill supported by Congressman Bob Etheridge (D - NC2) is now being used to install more telephone lines to handle the influx of calls resulting from the ever-rising unemployment rate. The State Employment Security Commission reported Friday that North Carolina’s unemployment rate reached a record high 11.2 percent in December, shedding another 31,000 jobs. And it isn’t only North Carolina suffering. WSMV-TV Nashville is reporting, “Tennessee does not have enough phone lines to handle calls about unemployment benefits and many people are frustrated. [Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development] is using stimulus money to install a new phone system, but it won't be ready until the spring.” WSMV STORY “If anyone was still not convinced that the stimulus failed, this confirms it,” says Mark Otto, second congressional district GOP chairman. “Millions of Americans have lost jobs since Congressman Etheridge voted to pass the stimulus bill and now money that was supposedly to “save or create” jobs is being used to install phone lines at the unemployment office to handle the spike in jobless claims. It’s madness.” WRAL in Raleigh reported Friday: As bad as the news is, the actual unemployment rate is probably higher, according to N.C. State University economist Dr. Michael Walden. “If discouraged workers and underemployed workers (those working part-time only because they can't find full-time work), are included, then the state unemployment rate is closer to 20 percent.” WRAL STORY

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