I know I'm going to be slammed here, but I believe that some people do begin taking advantage of unemployment after a while....and I know what it's like. I lost a job and couldn't find another, and what unemployment did was it gave me reasons to not work or to look for something better than I could find. I determined that I had to make more than X number of dollars to break even. If I went back to work, I'd have to put two kids in childcare, and going back to work was "not practical" unless I made that amount....and I was not lazy at all while on unemployement. I went out, made calls, and sent out resumes at least 4 days a week. It wasn't until I was about to run out that I was willing to take something below what I thought I should make because I knew I had to bring in something even if it wasn't what I deemed enough.

I know my experience does not fit everyone and that a lot of people are struggling right now; my goal is to not hurt feelings or get on anyone's bad side. I'm just trying to point out that extending unemployment benefits actually makes some people more dependant and some people would be better off in the long run without the help, as good intentioned as it appears on the surface.