Real faces of unemployment

Do the three people flanking President Obama in this photograph look like bums, hobos or drug addicts? Those are some of the labels attached to jobless Americans by some Republicans in recent months.

Certain politicians have no clue as to how difficult it is to find work in America in 2010. Talk about an out-of-touch political party. Whether you're 55 and looking to resume your career, or 25 and hoping to get a foot in the door with a good company, your odds are far worse than they have ever been in most of our lifetimes. It doesn't matter how many college degrees you have or how skilled you might be. There simply aren't enough jobs to go around. That is a fact.

As a result, the economy continues to stumble. Therefore, unemployment benefits must be extended for the people like the folks in this picture who have been trying to find work and who don't use unemployment benefits for illegal drugs. Instead, they use the money to feed the economy, to keep their homes, to pay their bills. That is all good for all of America -- those who are searching for jobs and those who are employed. Cutting the jobless off will only slow down the recovery, cause home values to crash even further and lead to a new class of homeless people. What's the Republican plan to deal with that?

Instead of longing for a 1950s world where everything and everyone was easily categorized, modern-day Republicans need to face some facts about the current economy and the people who are suffering the most. I believe if they continue to take out their frustrations on honest citizens looking for work, they will lose whatever momentum they had prior to their attacks on the unemployed. We all know the unemployed. They are our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers. They aren't shadowy people standing on sketchy street corners. It is bad political policy to paint them as such.

I was glad to see Obama speaking on behalf of the unemployed and calling out those who want to halt benefits to the jobless while decreasing taxes on the wealthy. His speech in the Rose Garden today helped renew my faith that he hasn't forgotten about millions of honest, hard-working Americans who were cast out of the workplace during the recession and can't find their way back into suitable jobs, or the college graduates who are losing hope by the day that they will be able to put their education to good use.

Republicans in 2010 have a tendency to not acknowledge people who aren't doing well. They bend over backwards for those still on the top but rarely form policies to assist people who don't have a pipeline to the corner offices. They put up fences along the Mexican border without regard for how that may impact wildlife that needs to migrate in order to survive. They say "drill baby drill" even as the oil in the Gulf of Mexico is ruining life in that part of the country. We have a governor in Virginia who still thinks it's a good idea to set up hundreds of rigs off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Their arrogance is now off the charts with thinking that they can save a nickel on the backs of the unemployed. This is a party in need of a makeover, a soul. They can't just keep appealing to people's lowest instincts and fears and continue to win elections that way. Americans are getting smarter as more news and opinions are available. Facts can be easily checked. We don't have to accept anything that any politician claims as true anymore.

Despite the rhetoric coming from Republicans, most Americans still believe that those folks who are having trouble finding work should not have their benefits cut off. Most Americans know that the trouble that is facing some of their friends and neighbors could easily happen to them in this shaky economy. And if it does, they wouldn't want to be without benefits that they helped pay into while working for their entire adult lives.

As I have said many times, the GOP argument against extending benefits doesn't hold water in any regard. I never stopped looking for work while I was collecting. Never lost motivation to find a job just because I was getting a small sum deposited in my checking account. Getting an unemployment check for most people is just a way to buy some time until they can land a job. A way to save their homes and feed themselves. I have no love for those who use their unemployment checks to take a vacation or to lounge around, not looking for work. But that isn't the majority of people. Not anymore. Not in this economy. So Republicans stereotyping the unemployed is not only rubbing salt into some serious wounds, but it is also an indication of how they don't even know what the problem is. How can they fix something they fail to even acknowledge?

Fortunately, it appears the U.S. Senate might now be able to approve funding for an overdue unemployment benefits package. As West Virginia's Carte Goodwin is sworn into office this week, it looks like the Democrats will have the votes to overcome Republican hardliners who still think it's a good fiscal policy to screw average people. Their masking their hatred of Obama (and thereby, unemployed folks) by pretending to be concerned about the deficit is a joke.