Rush Limbaugh, welfare recipient

[snopes]

Comment: I have read several places that Rush Limbaugh used to be on
welfare. Is this true? Isn't this hypocritical on his part?

[snapdragonfly]

Al Franken says he was, in his book "Rush Limbaugh is a big fat liar." I can't remember if said he was on "welfare" or unemployment. But he was taking a check from the "largesse of the American people" as he himself puts it and Franken mocks.

I don't recall there being any accusations of Franken's book as inaccurate or libelous - but I hate The Obnoxious Bag Of Gas so much that I wouldn't doubt anything nasty about him so I'm not, probably, unbiased.

There is a chapter in that book called "The easiest job in the world: Rush Limbaugh's fact checker" so one would assume Mr. Franken is careful to do a thorough Lexxus search on all his accusations. He talks about his searches a lot - I did get the impression he was not making any statements of fact that couldn't be backed up.

(he says later in the book, that Limbaugh is not actually fat and it's not nice to say so. But that he IS a liar. Heh.)

[snapdragonfly]

Oops - my bad - it's "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot", not Liar. (that was his other book, "Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them."
And he says that Rush is not an idiot, but that he is fat. GAD. Sorry.
Must. Not. Post. Before. Coffee.

[KathyB]

From a review of Franken's book

Franken does a retrospective of Limbaugh's life from when he "fed off the largesse of the government in the from of unemployment insurance"

Apparently, this was after being laid of as director of sales & promotions for the Kansas City Royals, and he collected for 8 weeks. The sources for this are blogs, so not trustworthy. (His employment with the Roayls is well documented.) Somebody else can take it from here.

[Beachlife!]

Unemployment, in most states, is payed by a tax on the employer, not the individual. It's an entirely different type of 'governement' spending in that it isn't funded by the individual tax payers.

*edited for clarity...

Originally Posted by Beachlife!

Unemployment, in most states, is payed by a tax on the employer, not the individual. It's an entirely different type of 'governement' spending in that it isn't funded by the individual tax payers.

*edited for clarity...

Is that what is considerd "unemployment insurance," that being the tax payed by the employer?

[Beachlife!]

Originally Posted by Unklesam

Is that what is considerd "unemployment insurance," that being the tax payed by the employer?

Yep, and the 'rate' goes up or down depending on the employers history of unemployeeing (I just made up the word) it's employees. In general, it works to recoup the cost of paying unemployment from the employers. Unemployment is also 'earned' by the employee through number of hours worked and length of service. It's much more like the Social Security program which is also entirely different from welfare.

[RBCal]

Rush's advice to the unemployed

Limbaugh, on his radio show on 9/2 said that unemployment benefits are too long. “It gives people no incentive to look for work.”

http://www.bobbeckel.com/rush.php

No one can accuse Rush of being consistent.

[snapdragonfly]

Originally Posted by Beachlife!

Yep, and the 'rate' goes up or down depending on the employers history of unemployeeing (I just made up the word) it's employees. In general, it works to recoup the cost of paying unemployment from the employers. Unemployment is also 'earned' by the employee through number of hours worked and length of service. It's much more like the Social Security program which is also entirely different from welfare.

You are absolutely correct.

But Rush seems to exhibit plenty of scorn on people who take any kind of check at all, even one such as unemployment, that one could argue (and I would agree) is earned. ~that's how he comes across when I have had to listen to him, before my head exploded and ears started to bleed.

[Beachlife!]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

You are absolutely correct.

But Rush seems to exhibit plenty of scorn on people who take any kind of check at all, even one such as unemployment, that one could argue (and I would agree) is earned. ~that's how he comes across when I have had to listen to him, before my head exploded and ears started to bleed.

Can't agree or disagree with you. He's just an entertainer, and one who I never listen to. If he were a politician I might be more concerned about what he has to say.

My point was not in defense of Rush, so much as in defense of unemployment and it's comparison to welfare.

[snopes]

so one would assume Mr. Franken is careful to do a thorough Lexxus search on all his accusations

Nexis, you mean. The company is LexisNexis (sometimes called 'Lexis' for short), but Lexis refers to a legal database product, and Nexis refers to a news database product.

- snopes

[DawnStorm]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

You are absolutely correct.

But Rush seems to exhibit plenty of scorn on people who take any kind of check at all, even one such as unemployment, that one could argue (and I would agree) is earned. ~that's how he comes across when I have had to listen to him, before my head exploded and ears started to bleed.

Well, I hope that he'll be willing to help me if I cannot find a job by the end of March!
I'm not thrilled about the prospect of having to file for unemployment, but my last name is not Gates, and hubby and I need to have money coming in. Trust me, I'm in the process of looking for a job in my field, and will continue to look until I find one. I'm also willing to take something in the interim, but I hope it doesn't come to that.

Originally Posted by Beachlife!

Can't agree or disagree with you. He's just an entertainer, and one who I never listen to. If he were a politician I might be more concerned about what he has to say.

I think you downplay the impact Limbaugh has had on American politics in his 20-odd years as a talk-radio gasbag. He, as much as anyone, is responsible for our inability to discuss issues without name calling.

In 1994, Newt Gingrich and his buddies made Limbaugh an honorary member of Congress for his work in spreading the agenda of lies put out by the R's.

Pogue

[PatYoung]

Under immigration law, unemployment is not considered "public assistance" since it is the payment of an insurance program.

[Sara@home]

In Pennsylvania employees pay a portion of unemployment insurance. It's .0009 of wages.