"THE INFLUENCE GAME: Business aided by jobless bill"

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By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS (AP) – 21 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Emergency help for the jobless will be a huge windfall for Realtors, homebuilders, mortgage bankers and others, and that's no accident.

Those industries have spent months and millions of dollars making the case for $20 billion in tax cuts for homebuyers and businesses to help create jobs and revive a sluggish housing market. Their lobbying campaign paid off Thursday when Congress voted to pass the tax breaks as part of a broader extension of unemployment benefits. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law Friday.

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Is an economy based on building and selling houses sustainable? Why did we have the great mortgage/real estate bubble? Why create another bubble?

Is an economy based on Wall Street's profitability sustainable? How many new jobs did Wall Street create, along with those record bonuses? When taxpayers are funding the investment and profits? When Congress socialized the losses and ignored the privatized profits?

Why do some on Wall Street seem to have windfall profits when Main Street is hurting? When

When will Main Street come first?

When will companies fill our communities with businesses and jobs? Back in the olden days, our communities were built on labor, jobs, and thriving businesses in every neighborhood.

What do we have today? A few rich global companies and individuals that only get bigger and richer? Main Street gets poorer and has a higher tax burden? Windfall profits and bonuses on Wall Street and Washington?