Obama to Republicans: ‘The Long-Term Unemployed Are Not Lazy’

“Now I've heard the argument that says extending unemployment insurance will somehow hurt the unemployed because it zaps their motivation to get a new job. I really want to -- I want to go at this for a second. That really sells the American people short. I meet a lot of people as president of the United States, and as a candidate for president of the United States, and as a U.S. senator, and as a state senator, I meet a lot of people. And I can't -- I can't name a time where I met an American who would rather have an unemployment check than the pride of having a job. The long-term unemployed are not lazy. They're not lacking in motivation. They’re coping with the aftermath of the worst economic crisis in generations.”