CNN: Profiles of the Unemployed and uninsured
As first reported on CNNMoney by Julianne Pepitone:
Unemployed since: April 2008
Benefits expired: October 2008
Full-time employment: No
Filed in: California
Age: 63
I’d run out of jobless insurance for the second time in a few years last October. I was first laid off in 2006, and it took me until February 2008 to find another job in technical sales — it lasted only two months. When I turned 63, I applied for Social Security. Every penny of it goes to house payments. It would have been ideal to wait until I was 65, but that wasn’t an option.
Since July I still have not found work, and I’ve had to put my job search aside as I have a bad shoulder. Back in 1969, I had surgery on that shoulder to fix a recurring dislocation problem. The procedure they used back then is no longer in use because about 35 years down the road, you end up losing all of your cartilage in that shoulder joint. Continue Reading…
I’ve been unemployed for several months now and this blog: http://surviveunemployment.blogspot.com/
Has really helped as well as yours. CNN doesn’t.
Hey John, Cory and all. Have you seen the NY Times feature on the recession? It’s quite amazing.. some day we’ll look back at all of this and find that it was the NYT that really recorded our stories. And blogs.. sorta :p
http://projects.nytimes.com/living-with-less
Greetings folks!
Well I too am one of the unemploymental… I’ve got a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry, plus certifications in Unix system Administration and Massage Therapy (Hey, I figured you couldn’t outsource that one…) and yet, the only job I’ve been able to get hired for is waiting tables in a restaurant.
I was a chemist until I was laid off in 2000 (when Bush “Won” the election) and an IT guru until I was again laid off back in 2002. After that, I’ve traveled the country looking for another job. I’ve lived in almost every corner of the country, from Vermont and Massachusetts to Arizona and Florida. In the almost 8 years that I’ve been moving around, no job has lasted more than a year, and most have only lasted for about 3 months, if that.
The recession is nothing new, and it certainly isn’t the fault of our new president Obama. Remember, it took Clinton 8 years to bring us back from the brink of the Reagan/Bush years (and they were semi competent!) but after 8 years of Bush’s son, who was unable to keep even a baseball team afloat… and his running mate who was obsessed with Oil, it should come as no surprise that they dug (or should I say “drilled”) a hole so deep that it will probably take another 8 years to get out of.
That being said, we should keep our sights focused on the positive. Obama has decreased the momentum of our downward spiral. Not as many people were laid off this year as last year. We’ve slowed down the outsourcing and there are a few jobs that are being offered again. This is a good sign because it means even as more people are losing their jobs, there are a few that are getting them back.
Also, we’re now recognizing the fact that there are a lot of people that need help. Our President has actually recognized that we’re all dealing with hard times and is trying to make a difference.
Also, it is in the face of adversity where the people of America tend to come together and persevere. It is to this end that I propose a challenge to all those highly educated and sorely underpaid or unpaid.
We’re facing global warming effects every day, and we will need people to think of ideas to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and harness the power of nature into energies we can use. So when you’re sitting in front of your computer, spare one web browser window or tab for looking into this issue, and trying to get creative with ways we can use the earth’s natural forces to power us into the next century. If enough people do this, perhaps we can find answers that our politicians wouldn’t even think possible. Remember, we didn’t think Star Trek was possible when it was on TV, but think about how many people carry a “communicator” in their pocket or hanging off their belt in today’s society! (And the Motorola logo even looks like two Star Trek symbols stuck together…) We’ve got MIT graduates out there, we’ve got Cal Tek people out there as unemployed as the rest of us, and even Einstein was a patent clerk!
So keep inventing, keep thinking outside the box, and we may look back on this era as the days before the new golden age!
Hope it helps people see that we’re not as screwed as we may think…
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i think it’s time for yet another cnn cartoon news fest about interviewing “skills”-i.e. nice suits, don’t twirl hair, or play with the hands,/feet, don’t smile too much, etc….WOW…..duh? that is NEWS?? how about a real investigative report on the real hiring practices in america—nepotism, cronyism, fraud, buddy system, right last names, rigged interviews, EEOC data procurement etc….
the lemmings/sheeple seem to enjoy status quo.
i am dying slowly…on hold with unemploment..as my belly growls and the bill collectors are knocking, carting my possessions away…i wana be free… i wana do something good with my life…i have a graduate education…it is worthless except in the debt it incurred…it makes sallie mae rich to see me fail…it makes death seem merciful as i cry and wail…i am dying slowly as my belly growls…i am dying slowly
i would be better off dead…more money for the corrupt politicians to keep in their pockets if i just sailed off into the abyss on a 9mm rocket!
Ahh the state of unemployment, with all its’ insecurites. I’ve been unemployed for several months, and I’ve never been happier. Part of this is because of my subsidised financial situation combined with ruthless thriftiness. If you have time and not much money, all it takes is some creative initiative to find a rewarding use for your time – even if it doesn’t pay. There are plenty of delicous recipies to try, projects to take on, old junk to tinker with and salvage, places to explore, and books to read.
The first feeling that i had, after getting my first couple cheques was elation. I realized that if i lived within my meager means, I could be free of the shackles of 9-5 for a little while. The second feeling was suspicion. Is this for real? I didn’t get paid vacations on my job. Do i deserve money for doing squat while others “slave away paying taxes that pay me” Why should people work anyway? what is work after all? what is money, really? The third feeling was lonliness. I realized that work can be a very satisfying social activity, and without it you can get kinda disconnected from the hustle and bustle that usually accompanies working life. So, I made it my project to try to understand why people are unemployed, why people are employed and why people work. I’ve discovered some interesting developments in the working world.
Now, the reason I believe many youth are unemployed today is because they are part of the “echo” generation which has just recently joined the ranks of the working age segment of the population. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for this generation, their parents (the Boomers) have just, or almost reached retirement age. They are trying to save for retirement, and are trying to postpone that time when they travel and do hobbies and live off the canned fruits of their labour. Most of them are still working and haven’t come to terms with the idea of retirement. At the other end of the spectrum, there are the echo generation, which stereotypically don’t have an appreciation for hard work, are fickle, unexperienced and are self-entitled. Plus there are a lot of them. Most of the boomers had children, albeit only a few per family. So, what this all adds up to, is that there are lots of people looking for work. Duh? Except that this is a quasi-temporary situation which will pass when boomers figure out how to transition out of the workforce and pass the baton onto their children. Unfortunately, this may take a while, because the boomers really like working.
This generation problem isn’t the only dynamic affecting your employability. There are the outsourced jobs that went to china and india. Most people have retired with the idea that these jobs aren’t coming back. I don’t think so either. What this means is that your unemployment cheque that you may spend at Wal-mart is giving Asians jobs. Hooray! I’m creating a job for someone! They should appreciate the fact that I’m giving them a chance to work! In fact they appreciate it so much that they are buying up the federal government debt, which indirectly pays your unemployment claim. Basically we owe china money because they stole our jobs but they offered to still pay our mortgages. luckily they don’t demand us to pay them back, otherwise we may have our jobs back. Wait, I wanted to work! gimme a chance to swing at the pitch! China has over 5 times as many people that like working more than you lazy oafs that collect UI. Hey, the communist government has to keep those people busy somehow so that they don’t all gang up on those communist government thugs. So, corrupt communisim stole my job. oh well. That is okay. If they want the jobs that bad, let them work.
So, we have two great excuses why i don’t have a job yet. I just need one more, and then I’ll throw in the towel and become a hunter gatherer as a full time job profession. That is one job our anscestors did pretty well, and we’re still here today right? Screw this pompous paperwork, silly sales work, and Impotent IT crap, I’m gonna go grow some potatoes and get a gun and shoot stuff!
Another reason you don’t have a job is because the robots and super-efficiency slaves stole them! These sly devices and people can be found in places ranging from your local supermarket with auto-checkout to the automated factory to the local hardware store. At one time we built houses with a skill saw and a hammer. Now we build pretty matching saltboxes with matching colours located within proximity of the largest gambling and shopping centeres. And, we do it with laser precision with a full array of power tools in record time in mass production, all financed with “subprime” loans. hmmm maybe that’s why theres a problem in the housing sector. Oh well, I liked working but i’m only gonna work if I can really create value. I won’t get carried away in whatever newfangled way the government finds to stimulte the economy. Instead of stimulating it, why don’t they just pay me to create jobs? hey, isn’t that self-employment?
So, If anyone(especially your concerned parents) asks you why you’re still kicking the can down the road, You can cite these reasons, plus say that you’re giving others the opportunity to work that can’t collect benefits. – this excuse really strikes up some protest. Note that it also helps to spice it up by blaming the politicians for not giving you a job. Don’t blame them too harshly otherwise some people might protest and demand work, or demand you work. They will find something for us to do, even if it is just cleaning goverment buildings, building government information websites that no one uses, or denigrating bank CEOs.
Please feel free to publish disagreements with my views. I am always open criticisim for my excuses for my sloth. In the meantime, I’m gonna rock the socks off this jobless opportunity.
Zac