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What if unemployment is permanent?
Wed, 09/15/2010 - 14:56
I just had a scary thought: What if the economy never turns around and all of our over-50 jobless folks never find work?
What about those of us who are not over 50? How about the students? What if a student can't find a job for a few years and finds themselves "unemployable?" What then?
Here is a question for discussion (not that I expect much response since I don't seem to be very good at inspiring site participation, but...):
Is there a way for unemployment to be the solution, not the problem?
Discuss...
Wed, 09/15/2010 - 20:13
#2
I have to disagree somewhat
If we keep our heads up and keep moving forward, we will all find jobs...
Really? That's what I thought when I was wet behind the ears with this whole unemployment thing. It's really kind of Panglossian or Quixotic or whatever the high-falutin' literary analogy is... I forget all these years after my schoolin'... but I digress, as usual.
It is important to keep one's head up and to maintain a positive outlook, but it is also important to face reality: Many of us WILL NOT, CAN NOT, and MAY NEVER work in a traditional capacity again. That is the way things are set up. That is reality. There are millions upon millions of people out of work and very few jobs out there. The reality is that a lot of us won't find work no matter how many windmills we tilt at.
So my question remains: How can we turn this crappy corporate bullshit economy on its head such that unemployment is the solution, not the problem?
This is both a realistic and an optimistic outlook.
That being said, I do believe that it is necessary to keep applying for jobs, at least for most people. You keep your lines in the water and your hooks baited. Just don't count on that job offer coming through. That's all I'm sayin'. It's just one line you keep in the water.
Wed, 09/15/2010 - 20:52
#3
Maybe
Maybe we are on the cusp of the next revolution. We have had the technical revolution. So one of us unemployed, may have the invention that will revolutionize the way the businesses run. I do not have any ideas as I am a numbers person, but I am sure that one of us does.
Wed, 09/15/2010 - 21:11
#4
one solution?
I wish we could resurrect the WPA and other Depression-era public projects. As a former worker in the arts industry, I know that federal funding would be especially welcome to artists and other creative types.
Thu, 09/16/2010 - 07:36
#5
Now there's an idea!
Think of all the great things built by the WPA that still give us pleasure today.
Those sorts of public works programs aren't just creators of jobs, they're a long-term investment in the health of our society. Supporting the arts could be part of such a program so that the things that are built are beautiful.
Thu, 09/16/2010 - 07:51
#6
Hmmm
Not sure. I don't understand how the economy works, to be honest. But it seems to me that if unemployment becomes a permanent state for a vast number of people, some sort of uprising will take place, when enough folks get so angry and frustrated that they just say, "No more!"
It's clear, though, that a lot of changes have to be made, corporations need to be forced somehow to stop treating their employees like game pieces. More regulation?
Maybe a stronger spirit of cooperation, that we're in this together. Maybe the hippies had part of it right, with forming co-ops. Contribute what you can and take what you need. Of course, this supposes a lack of greed, and faith in the better nature of others. I'm not all that optimistic. I'd rather hang with my cats than with most people I've met.
I have no idea what I'm talking about here, so if it sounds naive, it most likely is.
Mon, 09/20/2010 - 10:57
#7
A General Rant- Just introducing myself to you all
It is no joke that our country's infrastructure is falling apart: aging dams, municipal water and sewer and electrical grids, bridges, tunnels, schools, etc. Yet, our gov't persists is building embassies in Iraq and schools in Afghanistan. Go figure.
Except for a stint from December 2009-September 2010 caring for my elderly grandmother, I have been mostly unemployed since November of 2008. I was an administrative assistant contracted with the US Dept of Commerce. Make no mistake, most gov't workers are compensated far and above what they actually contribute to the country. The exception I make is for firefighters, police and teachers.
I, too, recently started to wonder if I would never have another "normal" job again. I am 48. Last month I had two job interviews. Neither of the places that interviewed me even called me to let me know that they were not going to hire me. Not even the courtesy of a phone call. I did good interviews at both places. There was no reason that I should have not been contacted. HAS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCED THIS? Have the getting-hired rules changed so much that common decency has been thrown out the window?
Anyway, it occurred to me that I might not ever have a decent job again. Retired at 48. It is a really weird feeling.
Mon, 09/20/2010 - 11:14
#8
When People are Pushed Beyond Their Limits
When people are pushed beyond their limits, then there will be trouble. Many people are falling off of the unemployment rolls because their benefits are not being renewed.
When folks have lost everything and there is nothing left to lose, yes, there could be uprisings. Some of you have mentioned in other posts that you have beocme angry. I hadn't even identified it in myself. But now I can see that my depression could have also been a manifestation of anger. I am glad this was mentioned.
I actually had two customer service jobs in that last two years and they were equally dismal. I live in Seattle. One was a contract position with Microsoft and another was with Boeing. I dont' know if any of you have worked as contractors to big corporations lately but, let me tell you, we are treated badly.
I should have been grateful for the work but I quit both jobs. I was treated so badly at Microsoft that I started having chest pains. The group I worked in at Boeing was a group of ex-Boeing employees who had been laid-off and hired back at half or less their previous wages. They were and angry and depressed group. Within four days I knew their was no way I could work with those folks without becoming more depressed than I already felt.
My husband works so I will not starve. So, I had the luxury to choose to leave. Few people can make that decision. I feel really bad for the people I worked with at those places who are still working far below their potential and being treated very very badly.
It seems like the 19th century again where the overlords have the few, miserable jobs in their rotten factories and the desperate masses must beg and plead for whatever they can get. It makes me really angry. This should have nver happened in America.
I remember in 1990's when Clinton signed the NAFTA agreement and other docs. The unions were screaming that it would destroy the country and it did.
Mon, 09/20/2010 - 12:53
#9
I feel your pain, Elizabeth
You are correct: We are in a higher-tech version of the late 19th Century, when Robber Barons sucked the working class to the marrow for every drop of wealth. The statistics back you up. In fact, I believe that the disparity of wealth is even greater than it was back then.
I happen to think that the solution is the same as it was then: Workers need to organize, form unions, and fight for our fair share. Nobody's going to give you anything. You have to take it. Since we working people have very little power individually, our only option is to band together (unite) in an organized way.
I disagree to an extent that NAFTA and other free trade agreements (the GATT, the WTO) were necessarily a bad idea. Trade is a good thing. I loves me some coffee and chocolate. The problem was in the execution -- the playing field was tilted toward big business and away from workers, the environment, social standards, etc. Those agreements could have been a great thing if they actually facilitated trade while protecting workers, the environment, and sovereignty.
Thanks for your comments. Try to be positive and channel some of that indignant passion into something constructive, and stop on back any time.
Mon, 11/29/2010 - 20:10
#10
Permanent unemployment
While I have not appreciated being "laid off" and being over 50 (52) - the whole experience has taught me that I am able to work around the issues.
Like 9/11, I think this recession has made us all look at our "priorities" and maybe value what we do have after the other stuff has been repossessed (lol).
The bottom line is that we have no idea how long this recession is going to last, it is the HOPE that it will end someday that keeps me going.
Yes, there is some good that has come out of this recession and hopefully we will all keep learning and treasuring our loved ones in the process.
Mon, 11/29/2010 - 23:16
#11
its the little stuff
We need jobs making the basic stuff again -- toasters and pens, tv's, bicycles. Corporate America(one-world-economy types) are not following proper American capitalism, skipping one important part.....US! They have products made in places that pollute, underpay, undereducate. A nice juicy tariff on non-U.S.-made stuff would help finance unemployment. Shortly thereafter maybe a reduction in hours in the U.S. work week (spread work out) etc. Our generation does not compare to our forefathers; we are wimpy selfish and too busy with our own little worlds to really pay attention to what evil is destroying great America. Being broke will give us time to learn, think about what is next. Everything happens for a reason.
Fri, 12/03/2010 - 11:39
#12
hope not
I don't know but my unemployment is about to run out, i need a job asap. So lets home it turns around
Fri, 12/24/2010 - 21:14
#13
2011
Hello!
When one door closes (your unemployment runs out), another door will open (another source of income).
Keep looking for income sources - 2011 is right around the corner :)
It is all about having "multiple income sources".....
My Blog: A Story of Hope!
http://survivingunemployment.weebly.com
Sat, 05/07/2011 - 07:45
#14
Uprising?
It's doubtful that will be an uprising-the pain isn't widespread enough. In my blacker moods I figure, at best we are forgotten, at worst that we were slackers who deserved unemployment.
Tue, 05/17/2011 - 15:10
#15
this is why i bought a tent,
this is why i bought a tent, put a garden out , and am raising some animals. i thought the economy was getting a little back, then japan got nailed and everything is going back to the sink hole. God help us!
Tue, 05/17/2011 - 15:22
#16
Hey!
LOL Cash, this is ajshirle from your outsource911.com. Glad to see you have joined us on this site. You will love the awesome job Chuck is doing with his site. And the neat part is that he is not shy about sharing his personal challenges - been hired, now unemployed the time I have been on his site.
Chuck, if you get a chance, check out Cash's site - it is new but they getting there...
Bye for now :)
I would not mind being unemployed if I could pay all of my bills (ie no more CC debt) and still have money to keep the girls lifestyle. We are not a splurgy family but I would like to have normal weekends back. By normal I mean going to Volleyball or whatever sport game on the weekend and not have to worry about do we have enough money for gas and food for the day out. Be able to have enough money left over after payday to buy whatever needs come up instead of having to tell my teenage girls that we do not have the money and it will have wait for next payday and scrimp on groceries the next payday. For me it is a money thing.
But in answer to your post:
We can not think that way, life has a way fulfilling our self fulfilling prophecies. If we keep our heads up and keep moving forward, we will all find jobs. BTW I heard that companies are getting tax breaks for hiring anyone who has been unemployed for 60 plus days. I think that is just about all of us on this site. Hold tight. Just remember that one our members got a job just this week.
Fish