some politicians and people in general think that the best way to help the unemployed to get motivated to look for work is to cut off their benefits. you know....that is almost assinine. long term unemployment benefits don't cause the long term unemployment...they just ease the crisis and make it easier to look for work. since you're not dealing with crisis every minute you can concentrate on looking for a job. this is not exactly a booming economy right now, despite the pretty picture that obama and his economic people might want to paint. almost 4 in 10 workers have been out of work for more than 27 weeks. there are 4 unemployed people for every available job. unemployment according to the feds is around 7%. realistically it's around 14-15%. the average duration of unemployment right now is around 38 weeks.
you could very well have ended up as one of them....you still could. the average income of the unemployed was around 35,000 dollars when they lost their job. the high end of that median was 75.000 dollars. do you really think they would remain unemployed long term for the sake of collecting 300.00 dollars a week...which is what the average was? cutting off long term unemployment will look as if the total number of unemployed dropped because they will be out of the workforce. no record of them. that's already why the numbers are false to begin with.
here's what i'm trying to say. unemployment is like welfare in alot of ways. people are prejudging on the basis of loud tweets, articles by politicians who are trying to get a headline and a vote and by the righteous voices of people who have never been poor or unemployed or on welfare. the people who have lost their benefits....many of them...will now lose their homes. they will lose their way of continuing to seek employment. they will lose their car. they will lose their self respect. some will become homeless. many will become desperate. none of these will help them or coerce them into finding a job. just like cutting snap benefits and welfare to force the people to look for work doesn't do anything but make a bad situation even more desperate...so will cutting unemployment. the mentality of that is just ludicrous.
what's wrong with you america? are you so hell bent on saving money and being able to spout self righteous words that you are willing to sacrifice the well being and safety and even food and shelter from your own people? are you so hell bent on proving a president or a group of people wrong that you are willing to have children and eldery men and women fear for their basic needs? are you willing to continue to ignore the fact that many homeless and unemployed men and women do not...let me repeat...do not want your entitlements but had rather be working and independent?
you do what you must. you say what you think you should. as for me....i will say what i must. you are wrong.
see you around town