Many people are beginning to wonder why President Obama isn't fighting as vigorously for the longtime unemployed as he did for health insurance reform. As unemployment benefits expire for millions of average Americans, Obama and some Democrats seem to be joining most Republicans in Congress in turning their backs on a looming disaster that will ripple through the economy. Here's what one American had to say in a Washington Post article today.
"President Obama talks a lot about making the victims of the gulf disaster whole, but what about the victims of this economic disaster?" said Dwight Michael Frazee, 50. "Nowadays, he seems mostly concerned with image. Now, he doesn't want to be seen as a big spender. But people need help."
People 50 and older are having a particularly hard time finding work. However, professionals in their 20s and 30s aren't exempt from difficulties in landing new jobs. Even here in Northern Virginia, where jobs are allegedly plentiful, people are on the edge. More from the Post article:
A 34-year-old resident of Vienna, Va., named Brian, who withheld his last name because of his embarrassment about being out of work, worked in corporate finance for nine years before being laid off three years ago. He exhausted his unemployment benefits long ago and has been living off savings and credit. "Before this, I figured that if you can't find a job in two years, you're not looking," he said. "But I keep looking and jobs just are not there. The economy is not recovering. It's being propped up by government spending. But when that ends, I think this whole mess is not over with."
In a recent study, Washington D.C., was ranked as the No. 1 city to find a job. What it didn't say is that while there are more jobs here than elsewhere, the competition is more fierce. This is one of the most-educated areas in the country, and the people looking for good jobs here come from all corners of the planet. In addition, many of the lower-end jobs that are available do not pay enough to make ends meet in this extremely high-cost-of-living area.
Some CFOs are saying that real hiring might be at least two years away.
It is frustrating to listen to people, particularly politicians, making assumptions about why people are unemployed. Until they have walked in the shoes of a longtime-unemployed person, they really can't or won't grasp all the complexities of why millions of folks still can't find work. Simply put, the jobs are not there. The economy has not recovered. To assume that someone who educated themselves, built a professional career and achieved middle class status or higher can suddenly take a job stocking shelves at 55 years old at Target is unrealistic. Yet, those are the types of jobs that some right-wing politicians say we should take. That's almost laughable because many politicians have never earned an honest day's pay in their lives.
With that said, many people with solid work ethics would take those jobs in Target if they could stay afloat by doing so. But they can't. And the insult-to-injury aspect of all of this is that those jobs aren't being given to 55-year-old men and women with PhD's or years of professional experience. Where do those folks go to find work? If they don't have friends in high places, they will end up on the outside looking in for a prolonged period of time as a double-dip recession seems more likely with each passing day.
If Obama and Congress don't help the longtime unemployed now, the people who can document that they've been seriously looking for work since becoming unemployed, the entire economy is going to collapse. It's a simple reality that many leaders are choosing to ignore as they jockey for political position.
Republicans seem perfectly willing to increase the deficit by giving billions of dollars in tax cuts to the very wealthy but won't fund meager weekly unemployment benefits for the middle class. They claim that tax cuts for the rich will help fuel the economy, but most studies (including Moody's) prove that to stimulate spending, unemployment benefits provide a much bigger bang for the buck than tax cuts. It is beyond comprehension why Obama and the Democrats don't hammer home these facts to an American public that is often uninformed or taken in by wealthy conservative talk show hosts out to protect their own riches. As I grow older, I am convinced that radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh are toxic to our society, political system and sense of common decency.
When cultural and political leaders make sweeping comments about jobless people using unemployment benefits "to buy illegal drugs," it should set off alarms about the authors of those remarks. They are simply not fit to lead. Their narrow minds and dark hearts need to be exposed. They need to be educated about who the new unemployed are in this country. They are not drug addicts. They are not chronic welfare cases. They are previously respected folks who were contributing to society before politicians and corrupt businesses drove the economy into the ground. The least we can do for them is to provide a bridge over these troubled waters. Many of them were the backbone of this country for decades. Some fought in wars, others were just good citizens paying their taxes and raising their families. To just throw them into the rapids is an horrendous act that will come back to haunt us all.
President Obama needs to step up and lead the charge to provide unemployment benefits to those who earned them. Employers also need to step up by hiring people who don't have jobs. Too many employers are still hiring folks who are already employed, while millions of highly qualified people go without work.
Real patriotism is not Sean Hannity playing sappy country songs on the radio about the good old red, white and blue or pretending to be just a regular Joe. Ditto on Sarah Palin. Real patriotism means everyone pulling together, lending a hand and creating meaningful jobs for all Americans. We have to fight the economic crisis like we fought both world wars. All hands on deck. Our recovery isn't going to come any quicker by throwing our neighbors overboard or by fattening the bank accounts of the wealthiest five percent. I thought Obama understood that, but like many of his supporters, I am losing confidence in his willingness to battle Republican hardliners.
Hiring might be two years away.
Confidence in Obama reaches new low.
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