Will the 99ers (those that used all 99 weeks of unemployment benefits) now be tossed to the curb like old beer cans?
Congress and the general public seem to be siding with corporate America - in that they know how desperate the jobless now are and will pay them 50% of what they previous earned before the Great Recession. In other words, millions of American citizens are expected to be a new class of people living in poverty. Educated and well-trained people are now supposed to work part-time and menial jobs and live near the poverty threshold, because the jobs that were lost, will only return gradually - - - and not in keeping pace with population growth. And those jobs will most likely be filled by younger and "better educated" people that are new to the workforce. Many (most?) might probably still be living with their parents today, and will be fresh out of college with no family to support.
"No Experience Necessary" - just better looks and/or better health...to be fed through the corporate meat grinder, until they too, become middle-aged, worthless, and forgotten.
The millions of middle-aged men and woman who lost their jobs now have no choice but to face their golden years with little to no chance of preparing for retirement...while the newly hired younger people will have a life-time to save and learn from their middle-aged predecessor's mistakes.
99ers and "older people" (40 to 65) will have to accept the fact that most will never recover economically...they are a newly discarded group of people who worked hard all their life breaking their backs, but now face their senior years with very little hope of maintaining any significant way to earn a reasonably comfortable living.
Hundreds of thousands will lose their homes, have their cars repossessed, and will be chided my "the enlightened ones" to start living within their means (Sage advice from those who still have jobs and are able to pay their rent).
Many 99ers have been accused of disparaging things, such as "lazy" or "ignorant" or "ill-prepared". They will be forgotten as the newer jobs become available. Their spouses and children - whole families - will be affected as this new class of American citizens struggle to survive in this flat economy. Unlike temporary migrant workers from another country who, when the work is gone, have a home to return to - the 99ers are already home and have no sympathy from their leaders in Washington, the media, or their fellow countrymen.
America has turned into a "survival of the fittest" state, and the 99ers will only be remembered as a tiny footnote in history 20 years from now, and maybe be briefly mentioned with some distain in a wikipedia article.
A Tier V and beyond (for many who soon may be homeless) is a infinitesimal slice of a $13 trillion economy when ordinary people need help from their country. Unemployment "benefits" is NOT a benefit, but only allows those people to simply survive. It's not "welfare"...these people worked and paid taxes all their life.
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For better or worse, much of the country saw the Great Depression as something akin to a natural disaster, and people accordingly lowered their expectations for their standard of living.
The struggle over economic policy in the 1930's seems almost strikingly parallel to today's; an episode in the long, historical conflict between business participants in the market and anti-business academics.
There's abundant evidence that both the Republican Hoover and the Democrat Roosevelt unwittingly worsened the Great Depression. These two American leaders foolishly relied on the advice of elites, believing that the graduates of our best schools should manage the country.
Roosevelt gave free rein to the professors, until the start of the Second World War led him to realize that he would need the tycoons to help mobilize to defeat Hitler.
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
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My related posts concerning unemployment in 2010
How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog5.php/2010/04/17/how-a-new-jobless-era-will-transform-ame
Jobless Claims - What the Labor Department Doesn't Tell You
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/04/29/apr-29-2010-jobs-report-what-the-labor-d
America in Crisis - Congress Must Choose: Unemployment Benefits or Homelessness
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/13/america-in-crisis-congress-must-choose-u
Tom Coburn and the Republicans on H.R. 4213 - "NOT!"
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/11/tom-coburn-and-the-republicans-on-h-r-42
Latest Unemployment Numbers and Links from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/09/latest-unemployment-numbers-links-from-t
Critics of the Jobless - Why Benefits Should Be Extended
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/09/critics-of-the-jobless-why-benefits-shou
Extended Federal Unemployment Benefits - Tier V - UPDATES
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/02/16/extended-unemployment-benefits-in-2010
Fox News: "Are U.S. Veterans also Lazy?"
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/27/fox-news-are-u-s-veterans-also-lazy
A Tribute to Another Unemployed 99er
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/24/a-tribute-to-another-unemployed-99er
99ers Tossed to the Curb like Old Beer Cans
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/24/99ers-tossed-to-the-curb-like-old-beer-c
Unemployment: Bottom of the List for Obama (UPDATES)
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/05/unemployment-bottom-of-the-list-for-obam
Senator Kyl (R) Wisely backtracks - Calls for Extending Benefits
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/04/senator-kyl-wisely-backtracks-calls-for
They're not Lazy! They Can't Find A Job You Idiot!
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/28/they-re-not-lazy-they-can-t-find-a-job-y
Senator John Ensign and the GOP - "Let the Jobless Eat Cake"
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/27/john-ensign-and-gop-let-the-jobless-eat
The Jobless Have Been Lost in Debate Over Healthcare
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/27/the-jobless-lost-in-debate-over-healthca
Like the last Great Depression, Unemployment and Foreclosures, Might See Rise in Suicides
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/03/10/unemployment-foreclosures-might-see-rise
The New Poor - Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/02/21/the-new-poor-millions-of-unemployed-face
Government Jobs (Bigger Government) Drive Employment Numbers
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/03/01/government-jobs-bigger-government-drive
Actual Unemployment in 2010 - Recession Worse than Reported
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/02/04/actual-unemployment-in-january-2010-rece
Deep Recession Shows No Sign of Letting Up - Maybe Getting Worse
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/02/24/deep-recession-shows-no-sign-of-letting
Largest U.S. Labor Union: AFL-CIO says Jobs Won't Return
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/01/07/largest-u-s-labor-union-afl-cio-says-job
More Bad News for the Unemployed in 2010 - and Beyond
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/02/23/more-bad-news-for-the-unemployed-in-2010
Almost 1 out of 5 People are Out of Work in the U.S.A.
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2009/12/31/unemployment-december-2009-new-release
FOX News Wages War on Unemployed - Thinks They're Lazy
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/03/02/real-reason-why-extended-unemployment-be
Tea Party, Fox News, and Conservatives Attack the Unemployed
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/04/tea-party-gets-in-wrong-on-unemployment
Obama-Care © Verses Unemployment and Suicide in 2010
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/07/out-of-work-buy-a-shotgun
27 Million of 154 Million in Workforce w/o Jobs
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/15/27-million-of-154-million-in-workforce-w
Fox News Continues to Insult Unemployed
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/13/fox-news-continues-bashing-the-jobless
"Diversity" and Illegal Hiring Practices
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog2.php/2010/03/12/mgm-mirage-illegal-hiring-practices
No, Unemployment Benefits is not an Inalienable Right
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/15/no-unemployment-benefits-is-not-inaliena
Too Old for the Workforce in 2010 - Unemployed Because of Age
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/06/too-old-for-the-workforce-in-2010-unempl
What they're NOT Saying about Jobless Numbers
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/08/what-nobody-s-saying-about-jobless-numbe
When Strip Bars in Las Vegas are Going Broke, You Know it's Bad!
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog5.php/2010/04/14/when-strip-bars-are-going-broke-you-know
The Jobless and Suicides in 2010
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/03/07/out-of-work-buy-a-shotgun
The Great Depression: Then and Now - Is There a Difference?
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog1.php/2010/03/08/the-great-depression-then-and-now-is-the
Take My 2010 Unemployment Poll
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog5.php/2010/04/10/2010-unemployment-poll
Unemployed 99ers - Running on Empty
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/17/unemployed-99ers-running-on-empty-do-not
The 99ers
http://tobuds.com/99er
Paladinette - Unemployed Zealot (Interview and links)
http://tobuds.com/blogs/blog3.php/2010/04/11/paladinette-unemployed-zealot-
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