Title: Unemployment Benefit Extensions
Headings: 
Unemployment Benefits Extensions
Compare 2021 Extensions to Prior Years
2020 Unemployment Extension
Unemployment Extensions Prior to 2020
2013 Extension
2012 Extension
2010 Extension
2009 Extension
Disadvantages of Extended Unemployment Benefits
Advantages of Extended Unemployment Benefits
Article Sources

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Disadvantages of Extended Unemployment Benefits
The downside of unemployment benefits is that paying them can, like any other government spending, increase budget deficits and add to the government debt. How can this hurt the economy? As debt approaches 100% of total output for the year, investors become worried that the government can't pay back its debt. Demand falls for U.S. Treasury bonds, which are used to finance government spending. This makes interest rates rise, increasing the cost of borrowing for everyone. Most loans peg their interest rates to the yield on Treasurys. Advantages of Extended Unemployment Benefits
Paying benefits has a similar, but even more direct effect as that of lower interest rates. Benefit payments give the unemployed more money to spend, increasing demand. Most government spending takes the form of job programs, in which the government hires workers and businesses directly to build things or provide services. Benefits eliminate the middleman.