A Face To The Unemployment Crisis

I have stated in a prior post that I am one of the 15 million unemployed people in this country. With the issue of extending unemployment benefits looming I thought I would take the time to explain some things about the unemployed.  This is not a political rant.  I am not going to talk about who or what caused the economy to tank thus putting this country into the worst recession since the Great Depression.  I am not going to argue about the deficit or who is or isn't responsible for fixing this mess, or even how to fix it.  I could do all those things.  I certainly have opinions about them, and with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics, somewhat more knowledge about it than the average person.  Perhaps another post.  This post is just for the purpose of putting a face on the problem.  My problem.

I lost my job with state government in January 2009.  It was a job I had held for 18 years.  Although I was not a political appointee, I was removed by the new governor for reasons only he can explain.  I did nothing wrong.  I was simply not wanted any longer.  Since that time I have fruitlessly searched for another job.  My unemployment benefits run out next week if no extension is passed.  That is my problem.

Who am I?  I am a 51 year old professional woman.  I have two college degrees, one a law degree.  I am the face of the unemployed in this country.  According to the U.S Department of Labor the demographics of the long term unemployed during this current economic crisis has changed dramatically from what it has been historically.  Long term unemployment has increased 185% for those age 45 and older; 289% for those possessing at least a bachelor's degree; and 125% for women.  I obtained these numbers here:  http://stats.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2010/10/art1full.pdf   I, ladies and gentleman, AM the unemployed.  What I am NOT is lazy.  What I am NOT is a whiner. Yet I have been called that, and worse. 

The face of the long term unemployed has changed, but the treatment of them has not.  Employers still look at them negatively, despite the enormity of the current economic crisis. Employers use credit checks, and advertisements stating blatantly that applicants not currently employed will not be considered, to weed them out.  Today we are looking at an epidemic of highly educated and highly experienced people being thrown under the bus.  No longer is that unemployed person a welfare mother or a deadbeat.  He or she is an engineer, an accountant, and yes, an attorney.

Still people just don't get it.  Get a job at McDonald's I am told, they are hiring.  Does any remotely sensible person really believe that McDonald's is going to hire an attorney to make Big Macs?  I have applied at McDonald's as well as other restaurants and retail establishments, only to be ignored.  I applied for a job at Lowe's online only to be rejected by email in less than 24 hours.  I was actually given an interview by Target, but again, quick email rejection.  Now, I am not blaming these employers, not really.  Why would a retail establishment hire an attorney with no retail experience?  Training is expensive and there would be no guarantee I would stick around long enough to recoup that investment. 

And there is also the inevitable question that I get.  Why not start my own practice?  Because it takes serious financial resources to do that.  Malpractice insurance itself would be cost prohibitive for me in my current financial straits.  Without a job, no bank would make me a loan.  An established law firm will not hire me because I have no private practice experience, and have no client base to bring to the firm.  Remember, I have worked in the government sector my entire career.  I am, as they say, up the proverbial creek.

I continue to press on however.  I continue to apply at those restaurants and retail establishments.  I do occasionally get interviews for attorney jobs, though I have yet to be hired for one.  I am substitute teaching for a small modicum of income when those unemployment benefits run out.  The last of my savings is dwindling.  

I am the face of the unemployed make no mistake about that.  If you have a job count your blessings.  And try to keep an open mind when you hear the politicians and the pundits and the attention seekers take shots at the unemployed.  They will continue to do so.  You see we don't count.  And when I and 4.99 million other people run out of unemployment benefits next week we will not count literally.  Not in those unemployment figures you see thrown around in the media.  We will be under the bus.

Reality Killed the TV Star

Last night while I was perusing Twitter looking for baseball arbitration news, I discovered that there was all this buzz about this TV show called Dancing With the Stars.  I know of the show though I don't  watch it (the video of Tom Delay shaking his booty almost made me hurl).  In fact I don't watch reality TV at all, though I will admit to a brief fascination for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy because I got some great tips on there.  Seems one Bristol Palin of the Alaska Palins was a contestant.  What caught my attention, and my disappointment was the sheer volume of Tweets concerning Ms. Palin's 3rd place finish in this contest. Tucked amid the torrent of #DWTS tweets there was the occasional tweet about the conflict between North Korea and South Korea and the terrible plight of the unemployed (a group of which I am a member), and of course some baseball arbitration news.

Now I am a fierce believer in freedom of speech.  I tweet my share of trivia as well.  Let's face it, baseball, though a particular passion of mine, is not going to decide the fate of the world. However, the obsession with Ms. Palin and Dancing With the Stars disturbed me. I realize that Ms. Palin's competition in this contest is newsworthy to a certain degree, being who she is the daughter of and all.  But I see this as a burgeoning symptom of a disease that has been growing in this country over the last decade----Ignorance Related Apathy Syndrome---a/k/a I Don't Know What Is Going On In The World And I Don't Care.  This disease is spreading and is threatening the well-being of every person on this planet.  It is potentially fatal.

Our society and societies everywhere are threatened because Ignorance and Apathy are two of the Deadly Sins (not the biblical ones, but those other ones).  Our way of living in the US is controlled by the people of the US (at least that is what the Constitution says).  And when a large majority of those people know who Kate Gosselin is, but not who the Vice President of the United States is, Houston, we have a problem.  Ignorance is a cancer that is eating away at the organs of our society.  Okay, so I like metaphors, but the point is, Americans have become lazy.  They make decisions based on little or no factual information.  Instead they rely on political pundits or TV and radio "entertainers" who tell them what to think. Yes, we are becoming a nation of pod people. 

So, WAKE UP AMERICA.  Try this concept.  There is still objective journalism out there.  Find it.  Educate yourself.  Deduce.  Reason.  It's really not that hard, trust me. 

And for God's sake, find out who the Vice President of the United States is.

Why I Am Here

I always wanted to have a blog of my own, but I could never think of a subject to blog about.  Politics and Baseball are my favorite subjects but the blogosphere is littered with blogs on those subjects.  Then one day I realized that one of the things about me that anyone who knows me will readily tell you is that I have opinions about almost everything, and I don't hesitate to express them.  I am a lawyer and I like to argue.  Give me a topic that I have an opinion about and I will argue it until I lapse into a coma.  Why not share my talent with the world I thought?  I know there are others who like to argue as fiercely as I do.  I've met them.  I've argued with them.  So this blog was born.

My format is simple.  If I find something in the news or anywhere else that I have an opinion on that I want to share I will post it here.  There will be no timetable, I will do it as topics are found and time permits.  I have a Twitter account and a Facebook account and any new blog post will be announced there.

All comments that are civilized and clean are welcome.  I may respond to a commenter from time to time, but I mostly want to hear what others think of my opinion. 

Let the arguing begin.