1.   Although the free festivities are just for a day, mall managers and store owners hope the business benefits last longer.

2.   And benefits last only two years.

3.   And for many, the benefits lasted eight months or more after treatment stopped.

4.   Nor is there any guarantee that the benefits will last beyond a few years.

5.   People claiming the benefit no longer qualify after six months instead of the year that the old unemployment benefit lasted.

6.   Social Security benefits also will last longer, in part because of adjustments in the consumer price index, which determines benefit levels.

7.   Studies have shown that those benefits last for years.

8.   Those benefits may not last long if investors sense risk in the financial system.

9.   Under their plan, benefits would last two years but states could have the option of extending them for another two years.

10.   However, Liang cautioned that questions remain about how long the benefits will last, as well as about such potentially serious side effects as anemia.