Federal UI benefits

And deals a blow to the state's economy in the process:

At present, about 81,000 people are receiving those benefits, which bring about $100 million into the state's economy every month. Despite that impact, House and Senate leaders say they won't delay the overhaul. McCrory said he won't delay it, either. "I refuse to let us continue to live off of a credit card. We're going to pay off the credit card. We're going to change the rules and policies," he said.

You mean, you refuse to let families of the unemployed live off a credit card. And when those home foreclosure notices start rolling in, where will McCrory and other Republican leaders be? Probably at some fundraising function in a McMansion or four-star restaurant, talking about how people "need to live within their means." They couldn't be more removed from reality if they tried.

And most of it can be traced back to the GOP:

If the expiration occurs, North Carolinians would receive up to 26 weeks of regular state benefits rather than what had been up to 99 weeks of state and federal benefits. This means anyone whose job was terminated or ended after June 30 will not get any more federal unemployment benefits.

Leaving them to rely exclusively on the absent sympathy of NC Republicans:

Solving NC's unemployment woes by promoting the denial of benefits:

The suspension of the rules Wednesday stemmed from a June 23 letter from the U.S. Department of Labor to state officials. It raised concerns about provisions in the bill that would have given employers 30 days to protest claims made by former workers and language specifying what kind of misconduct would warrant a person from being disqualified for receiving benefits.

You know, it's bad enough Republicans have done absolutely zilch in the area of job creation. But this less-than-human approach to policy could actually encourage companies to terminate employees. And it's no big surprise that such an anti-worker rule would run into Federal trouble:

In the wake of Phil Berger's attempt to use those 45,000 unemployed hostages to promote his own Senate Budget, House Speaker Tillis appears to be on the verge of introducing a new bill, also tied to a Continuing Resolution, that includes a provision allowing those unemployed to receive the Federal funds that never should have been held back in the first place.

That's three times the Republicans have used these unfortunate folks as pawns in their little-boy games, and that should be plastered above the fold of every NC newspaper worth its salt. Ink. Whatever.

Berger sentences the unemployed to another six weeks of suffering.