How do you improve the economy? If you ask some Republican members of Congress, the best way is to throw 1.3 million people into deeper poverty, starting this week.

For some time, right-wing think tanks and conservative politicians have held on to a number of arguments that they believe prove it's a good idea to let unemployment benefits lapse for 1.3 million people. None of those arguments holds up under the least bit of scrutiny. America's economy would be far better off if Congress extended unemployment benefits.

To look at their points, one by one, is to understand that the Republican opposition to extending unemployment benefits is dishonest. It also stands to alienate many Republican voters, particularly in the south, where poverty is widespread.

GOP myth #1: Cutting unemployment benefits forces the unemployed to get off their couches and bootstrap themselves into good jobs

That argument may be true in a good economy, but it's false in a rocky one, where there aren't many jobs to go around. The scale of the US unemployment problem is far past the reach of bootstrapping. The US has over 10 million people unemployed, 4 million of them for more than 6 months (what we call the "long-term unemployed"). There are nearly another million people discouraged at being unable to find work, and 8 million others in low-wage, temporary jobs because they can't find full-time work. In short, it is the worst employment market since the recession of the late 1970s and early 1980s. In addition, families, thin on cash, aren't helping each other as much, leaving the unemployed without a private fallback from family and friends.

The truth is, "bootstrapping" is not open to everyone. It is determined by class, education (which is often a function of class) and race. Pew Research found that those who "bootstrap" successfully already come from a place of privilege: they are mostly white, college-educated, and in dual-earner families. This is an economy where even a college degree is worth less than it used to be. There are twice as many college graduates working for minimum wage jobs now than 5 years ago. And roughly one out of every eight recent college graduates are unemployed (pdf), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

GOP myth #2: Extending unemployment benefits will be a drag on the economy

The implication here is that cutting benefits will boost the economy and force people to get jobs. It's a nice fantasy, but it doesn't work out that way. North Carolina tried cutting off benefits six months ago when the state found itself strapped for cash. The result? It wasn't that more people found jobs. Instead, 95,000 people dropped out of the workforce. Net result: an increase in unemployed workers slammed the state's workforce to its lowest level in 37 years, worsening the state's already deep economic inequality.

GOP myth #3: Unemployment benefits should be extended only after the government can cut other programs to "afford" it

Many Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner, claim aid to the unemployed should only be extended if the government cuts other programs in order to pay for the additional aid to the jobless. There are three major problems with this.

The first is that, despite the stubbornly held idea in some Tea Party circles, budget deficits have little to no influence on economic growth, stock market returns, the value of the dollar, or even on who gets elected to public office (pdf). The idea that deficits are dangerous to the economy in any pressing way has very little, if any, plausible intellectual backing. This idea should get a lot more pushback and challenge, but since Congress itself is barely competent on financial issues, it does not. In fact, it has been far more damaging to the economy to cut deficits right now. Pursuing austerity has led to the loss of government jobs, as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has said repeatedly.

The second problem is that the government can already "afford" unemployment insurance. Unemployment insurance is already largely paid for by employers, and the government tops it off. Because unemployment insurance is seen as an immediate need, previous Congresses have not held it hostage for budget negotiations. As White House adviser Gene Sperling pointed out, extensions of unemployment insurance – even during the five extensions in the Republican Bush years – usually occur with no cuts in other parts of the budget.

The third problem is that Congress has not proven any competence at creating a budget in a timely or effective way. It took Congress over four years of pointless mudwrestling, smack talk and endless economic wreckage to agree on a single budget – just last month – and even that budget is incomplete. It's a pipe dream to believe that anyone in Congress has the appetite or competence to go another round like that to find appropriate cuts to match unemployment benefits. In addition, the lives of 1.3 million people should not be reduced to a political chip played by lawmakers who are, frankly, not very good at this particular variety of fiscal poker.

GOP myth #4: Jobless aid is only a handout that does nothing to solve the underlying economic trouble

This argument holds no water, either. Unemployment is not a handout – unemployment insurance is paid for by employers, and accounted for in the system. It is true that extending unemployment does nothing to fix the economic recovery, but then, that is not the purpose of unemployment benefits. Boosting the recovery is the job of Congress to some extent, and they have done nothing since 2009 to pass legislation that increases jobs or handles job-promoting national issues, like infrastructure.

Overall, the congressional debate this week about unemployment benefits has no reason to exist. There is no reason not to extend benefits, and every reason to prevent over a million Americans from losing what little cushion they have. If the government has any responsibility to its people, it's not to force them into poverty when they have no other financial options.