Last week I interviewed John Dodds, director of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP), for a little story I’m working on for YES! magazine. (Actually, it will be an update of this piece I did for the American Prospect on organizing the unemployed.)  

PUP is a scrappy non-profit that has fought for Philly’s impoverished and unemployed since the OPEC recession. Dodds’ work with them dates back to its founding in 1975, meaning he’s been with them through more recessions than you can count on one hand. I asked Dodds if he thought this one was considerably worse, from his organization’s viewpoint, than the others they’ve been through. His answer surprised me (although in retrospect, I should have thought of it).

“No [this recession isn’t harsher than previous recessions]. For one very specific reason. We had an early and long extension of unemployment benefits. Every recession [since 1975] there has been a major struggle to extend unemployment benefits beyond the 26 weeks of state benefits. We really had to fight for months and months to get people extra benefits. But because of the elections, the Democratic wave, the Obama election, the Republicans were in no position to fight extended benefits.

We’ve had the longest period of unemployment benefits by far. 79 weeks of benefits right now. The longest we had in the past was 65 weeks during the ’75 recession. Back in ’83 which was a comparable recession to this one, the longest we got was 49 weeks.  

Historically, one of the major issues to organize unemployed workers has been unemployment benefits. It’s a basic program, but it’s so essential and of such immediate benefit to people. If your checks are out, you are really screwed. And if there is a bill out there and you’ve just got to fight to get it passed, people are willing to fight.”

Two things here. First, what a difference an election makes. Reagan gave 49 weeks of unemployment relief (and begrudgingly I’d imagine). Obama’s election granted struggling families 79 weeks, or more than seven months of government support beyond what Regan offered. This makes a very real differences in millions of lives, disproving, again, the shortsighted claim by some on the radical left that elections don’t really mean anything.

Second, Dodds is saying that one of the reasons widespread movements for the unemployed haven’t sprung into being as they have in previous recessions is because relief has been extended. Basically, low-income people haven’t become more politically active because they aren’t desperate enough. As much as I’d like to see mass movements fighting for economic justice, it’d be far better for everyone if the struggle were inspired by something other than empty stomachs.