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If Congress can’t reach a deal by New Year’s, 2.1 million people will be kicked off unemployment benefits. Not only would that be catastrophic for millions of low-income families across the country, it could strike a huge blow to our economy. Cutting support for the jobless would mean a loss of 48 billion in economic revenue. Nation blogger Greg Kaufmann joins Nation columnist Melissa Harris-Perry on her MSNBC show to raise the alarm about the real looming cliff—the one facing families unable to find work.

—Christie Thompson

For more on the threat to unemployment benefits, check out Greg Kaufmann’s coverage here. And watch the Melissa Harris-Perry show each week for her “Below the Line” segment, focusing on poverty in the United States.