Some people are saying the jobless are lazy bums. Sleeping and watching TV.

This is an absurd view, IMO, of people who have lost their job. I'm glad the author counters this attitude a bit at the end of the article.

For jobless, more sleep and TV, but also more unpaid work | The Lookout - Yahoo! News

 

I believe it is absurd as well. I sometimes work with/guide/counsel large groups of unemployed (vets or non vets). They fall into a couple of different traps. Here is what I currently see. Almost all jobs require online apps only. This takes out the human element of walking into an HR office. This can also be a hurdle for someone who has lost his internet access, cell phone, fax or had to sell his computer to pay a bill. Also, the invasive latitude employers have been given regarding hiring. Many companies prefer not to hire the unemployed, and those that do run credit checks on the unemployed applicant. The applicant is then denied because he has bad credit! Duh! He is unemployed, do they really expect this person to have a stellar credit score! I could go on and on and on!!!! Oh, the problem is then made worse when the unemployed are forced to live in their cars, thus making more barriers (no mailing address, etc) Even worse, many have to sell their cars and cancel their insurance to pay a month or two at a hotel. Once that runs, out, they end up living on the streets. I see it everyday folks!!!! Of course, If you are not unemployed, human nature causes us not see these things because "It hasn't happened to me".

Those that make glaring generalities like "The jobless are lazy bums who sleep, watch TV and eat cheesy poofs all day have no idea what is like to be unemployed today!" The staunchest conservative will beg and plead for UI benes to help him eat or survive in a bind. Ironic.

Strange times. I look into the future and what I see is not inspiring. If you have a job, thank God!!!!

Abner

 

No kidding. There is a limit to what a person can do. Hiring managers don't want to be harassed by hordes of unemployed people, so "pounding the pavement" isn't as fruitful as it may have been in days gone by.

The problem is this: if a person's talents are in high demand, he or she will not be unemployed for a year and a half. Unfortunately, supply is outstripping demand, so even solid workers are competing with hundreds of similarly-qualified applicants for the same jobs.

Simple logic will tell you that not every worker can be the best in a given interview. Hiring managers have the luxury of picking up the best of the best, but that leaves the rest of the pack hanging out to dry.

 

As a hiring manager I have interviewed many and wish I had jobs for more then one (when there is only one open position). While you see may see it as, "leaving the rest of the pack hanging out to dry" I actually feel bad when there are good people that are not offered the job because there is someone better. As a hiring manager you have a responsibility to the company to hire the best person and minimize risk (hiring someone that is not a good fit). Believe me, making a choice, one that impacts a life or entire family, is never taken lightly.

 

IMO, there is a huge difference between people who *can't* work (whether it's lack of opportunity or a legitimate disability), and those who *won't* work because they can feed off the government nipple.

Unfortunately, I see quite a few of the *won't* in my line of work.

 

It's not the hiring manager's fault; it's just the simple fact of life when the number of qualified candidates exceeds the number of open positions.

 

It would suck to be out of work and it's childish to make snarky political comments about it too.

 

Some people who are unemployed ARE lazy bums and watching TV. The article certainly does not state that everyone who is unemployed is lazy. Not everyone who is unemployed was screwed over by the "man" either. Some people are let go for being shitty employees and shitty people. There are assholes out there that do not deserve our repsect, pity or concern.

We should worry about the hard working middle group, not the booger picking outliers.

 

Is snarky the new catch phrase for you righties?

Abner :smile:

 

I agree with some of the comments above. Yes there are some out there who are legitimately out of work but there are some (and I have seen quite a few) that just won't work or even bother to look for a job because they can live on what the government provides. There are people who are unemployed who do exactly what the article states.

I actually heard something on NPR a few weeks ago about something similar to this and they asked company owners to call in and talk about how they feel hiring people who have been unemployed so long. Many of them (in fact almost all) said that they would rather hire someone who had worked even if it was at McDonalds or some place that had nothing to do with their line of regular work because it shows a commitment to provide for one self and family if they had one and that they are determined to continuing working.

I want to know what happened to the folks who where embarrassed to be out of work? The folks who would shovel horse sh*t out of the stall if they lost their job just to make a buck so as not to ask the government or someone they knew for a handout....seriously what kind of people have we raised and what are we doing to our children if they are growing up to believe this crap. If your out of work you take whatever job you can, even if it is not something you "want/like" to do (this does not apply to those who are legitimately out of work and actively seeking a job and have no luck). I know with a doubt that if my husband lost his job he would take the next job he got offered even if it was stocking a Walmart shelf.

 

Most people that are out of work are embarrassed.Let me repeat, Most. Are there some who try to skate? Sure. But this is not a new problem. There are good people, and there are some bad people in all aspects of life. Most people do not like unemployment for the following reasons:

*checks are delayed for a whole boat load of reasons. Delays cause landloards and bill collectors to get mighty snippy.
*If you make an innocent mistake reporting wages, you WILL suffer the consequences. You will be hit with an overpayment that rapidly accrues interest. So an overpayment that may have started off at $350.00 can grow to a couple thousand in a year or less.
*If someone falsely accuses you of UI fraud (happens all the time), your benes will be delayed until the investigation is concluded. UI fraud investigations take months!
*because of massive public employee cuts, you may have to call the UI 800 and be prepared to wait 1-4 hours.
So all in all, collecting UI benes is not easy. If your claim form got lost in the mail, too bad, you have to wait 1-3weeks until your replacement claim form comes along. Definitely not a pleasant experience.

As far as people wanting to take any work available? They may want to, but the competition has grown fierce, even at the minimum wage level. A recent example? Thousands showed at a job fair in Orange County CA at a McDonald's job fair held in May 2011. The media interviewed the applicants. The educational levels of the applicants ranged from no HS diplomas, to MBA and PhD's. They were interviewing for burger flipping jobs. How many minimum wage paying employers are going to hire highly educated folks who are unemployed? I would venture to say VERY few. Why? The age old conundrum. If I hire this MBA, he will leave the minute he is made a higher offer syndrome. Or, this guy will be to uppity because he has multiple degrees. This sometimes causes hiring managers to discount the highly.

The dilemma of free loaders has been around longer than prostitution. Should we assume everyone is freeloading? I submit no.

Have a good one!

Abner

 

Nope. I'd hardly be classified as a rightie. I'm not religous and I'm pro-choice and pro gay-marriage, also thanks for not calling me a tea-bagger too. I can tell you what I am though. I'm slow when it comes to politics. I don't watch Fox news, or MSNBC or CNN, I don't listen to talk radio and I don't frequent policital hackery type blogs. Therefore it's difficult for me to participate in the typical right/left conservative/liberal facists/socialist communist/tea-bagger name calling that people with short attention spans and no knack for skepticism partake in. I understand if you inject your political views into everything your life. I can't shoot everything I read through a political prism. Some problems, make that most problems are not right/left R/D issues. They are "us", as in you and me and everyone elses, issues.

One of my favorite Japanese sayings: "Fix the problem, not the blame"

We should quit with the name calling and blaming.

 

That's cool. I enjoy and like politics. Being a union leader and government analyst, I have to stay on top of politics daily, it's simply part of my life. I will make a very tame jab once in a while. Am I little over protective of my opinions? Sure. When I say I make tame comments to fellows on the right, I mean compared to being called an anti american communist trader/terrorist for not being for the Iraq war. Yes, some of my right wing brethern here were overjoyed to use such terms against the likes of me and several other senior members here during the GW reign.

Of course, due to the path and code I follow in my life, I help anyone who needs it regardless of race, color, creed or political orientation, no matter how extreme. For instance, my long time friendorfoe sometimes disagree on issues, but we have remained friends for many years. As an American, he respects my opinion, and I respect his.

In short, yes, I will continue to make observations in my comments such as the one I made in this thread. I report my observations from daily life, and find irony in those that have extreme right wing views, but then hold their hands open when they are in trouble. Example, I met with a client who was out of luck. He needed retraining, which would also extended his UI benes while in JTPA (Kennedy program) paid training (pays up to $10K). After railing about democrats for an hour, I mentioned to him the program he was so anxious to get into, was created by a dem. His retort? Damn that Kennedy! Why didn't he design the bill so it would pay for a 4 year college degree. My answer, it would be too costly. No response. In the end, everyone will line up for help when they are in a pinch. The usual comment is "I never thought this would happen to me.

So, I will express my comments which will and always have included political commentary (not that often, but I do reserve the right to). And no, I don't think my own party is perfect. Most likely both major parties have contributed to current mess we are in today.

Have a good one 03310151,

Abner :smile:

 

Excellent post wise young master. Here is another current reality regarding the long term unemployed:

Suicide is a growing problem among the long-term unemployed | MLive.com

People are having so much fun being unemployed they are killing themselves. I hear and see stories like the guy in the article daily.

Abner

 

P.S. Meant traitor, not trader. I don't bother running my stuff through spell check on word.

 

Also, note that there are many people on the right who note a lot of the liberal hypocrisy as well

I was against the war in Iraq too. At the time being an active duty Marine I figured I had a vested interest in not fighting an unnecessary war. Although your philisophical reasons against the war were much more complex and nuanced than my reason for being against the war. I didn't care about the Iraqi people. Still don't.

But that's another thread.

 

In the interests of fairness, I think you need to qualify this statement with "most people that you have personally come across that are out of work are embarrased."

I come accross people everyday as well who are unemployed and there are a significant number who are NOT embarrased. It is someone else's fault.

How about this solution - in order to receive unemployment benefits, a person would have to take whatever job was available to him/her and then the UI would make up the difference between what the job paid and the rate the person was qualified for from the previous job?

 

I like this idea.