For America's "99ers," jobs crisis is hard to escape

SEWELL, New Jersey (Reuters) - Mary Kay Coyne has just filed what she says is her 1,862nd job application since being thrown out of work three years ago.

She is one of millions of Americans whose unemployment benefits have expired -- after 99 weeks in many states -- as the United States suffers its highest level of long-term unemployment since 1948. Coyne had to move in with a friend after benefit payments ran out last year. Now she gets by on Medicaid -- U.S. health insurance for the poor -- and food stamps, contributing what little she can to her friend's household costs.

"You're 56-years old and you feel like you are sitting on a big pile of nothing," said Coyne, who spends about four hours a day sending out resumes.

She used to earn $70,000 a year as an administrative assistant until her firm began to downsize and left Coyne among the growing number of Americans struggling to live on unemployment benefits, and eventually on minimal food aid.

Now Washington is considering cuts to social welfare programs to shrink a swelling budget deficit. It may not only be Americans like Coyne who feel the pain. Some economists say the cuts could make it even harder to shrink long-term unemployment that damages the wider economy by dampening consumer demand and lowering output.

Cindy Paoletti had no idea she would still be unemployed more than three years after being laid off by JPMorgan Chase. The 59-year-old accountant -- who volunteered to be laid off to care for her dying father --- now survives on loans borrowed against the falling value of her home, Medicaid and food stamps. "

By the end of the month we are down to practically nothing in the house," she says. The $200 in food aid she now receives each month goes furthest when spent on frozen vegetables and potatoes.

That's a far cry from Paoletti's lifestyle as a 23-year veteran at JPMorgan.

finance.yahoo.com...

This is happening to more and more Americans each day. Cutting programs that help these people, mainly putting a little bit of money in their pockets, is not going to help our economy....it's going to make it worse.



We are in serious trouble if we don't do something about the job situation in this country. Especially for someone like this woman, in her 50's, is less likely to be hired over someone younger as they are a lower health risk.

It's always funny to me...if they gave the bailout money to the people and then the people paid the money they owed to the banks, the people and the banks get bailed out. If they give it directly to the banks, the banks get bailed out but the people are still on the hook. Hmmm...

But this is no conspiracy. It's just because nobody cares. No need to look for any answer more complex tha greed and apathy. Everybody is looking out for themselves in this economy because nobody else will look out for you. Hmmm.

Never depend on anybody or anything except yourself.
I think the last line from the link
speak volumes
"I can curl up on the sofa and cry and pretend that it is going to get better but it is not going to go better unless I make it better."

This came up here a couple days ago. She spends only 4 hours a day filling out job applications? How does her friend feel about that? I'd be pretty pissed if every time I came home from a 12 hour shift, the person who was mooching off me was sitting on their ass watching TV claiming they "did their 4 hours of work today".

She probably doesn't have a job because she's stubborn and greedy, most likely demanding at least a $70,000 salary. I wanna know how many $35,000/yr jobs she turned down, because I'd wager she's gotten at least one job offer...

This reminds me of a scene from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation..

"Well he's been out of work for close to 7 years"
"In 7 years he couldn't find a job?!?"
"Catherine says he's been holding out for a management position"

reply to post by A por uvas

this post kinda hit home
i am a 56 yr old w 30 yrs exp and on my last few weeks remaining
last job interview 987 people for 3 jobs that pay less than unemployment
bout time for the lean to in the woods i guess

I havn't worked since 2008 and am 53. I do have savings for now, but that won't last forever, especially since I'm in the middle of medical tests and have no medical coverage.

For now, I am able to help my elderly Mom when she needs and I have a disabled husband who needs a little help. I had spent so much time and energy for at least the first two years searching for employment. For those who were hiring, there were too many applicants and not enough positions available.

For places that I wasn't sure if they were hiring but I tried anyway, you'd hear:
Oh I'm sorry, we're not hiring right now,
I'm sorry, our employees just went on 4 day work weeks,
I'm sorry, we just laid off a number of our people.
At one interview some guy looked at me funny because i would have to travel so far for minumum wage.

There were many jobs that I couldn't apply for because either they required heavy lifting and I have back problems, or you were required to speak spanish, or they were too technical, or way too far to travel and I can't move, or they required 12 or more hours per day. Yikes! I am in pain every day of my life, 8 hours would be more than enough!

It isn't easy for your average every day person to find employment. Being over 50 is so much worse!

Yes, yes... Poor woman, very sad... etc,etc.

Covered Here

Originally posted by boncho
Yes, yes... Poor woman, very sad... etc,etc.

Covered Here

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reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


My apologies. I will reiterate my position on the subject.


I think the article is sensationalist, and there is likely a reason why the woman (women) have been turned down by so many people. Little things that are left out are: Where were they applying to, did they follow up on their applications, were they willing to relocate for employment..etc...etc....etc

reply to post by David9176

These times that we are in, it may be a luxury to look for a job that you want versus looking for a job at all.

Originally posted by A por uvas
Never depend on anybody or anything except yourself.
I think the last line from the link
speak volumes
"I can curl up on the sofa and cry and pretend that it is going to get better but it is not going to go better unless I make it better."

edit on 10-7-2011 by A por uvas because: (no reason given)

You do realize that it is a a benefit that you need to pay into to get right? I always hear this lazy crap and I think it is mostly from the younger age groups who have not really lived in the real world for very long or if at all.



If I did not have unemployment I would have lost everything. I worked at the job for 10 years and have worked since I was 14 without and self made employment gaps. I work hard for everything I have. Thankfully I made it and I am back at the company.

reply to post by boncho


i am ready to go anywhere on this planet for a job
30 years i n the car business for nothing
willing to do anything go anywhere
oh yeah and 4 yrs on a nuke sub i guess my stupid old fart lazy basement dwelling bum just needs to go away
just before the dealer closed he said nothing to worry about we are going nowhere
not a job to be had around these parts

Yea we already discussed this lady. She doesn't seem willing to settle for something less than what she was earning before.

It seems that sending out a few resume's a day to her is hard work. She seems content to mooch off the government and friends instead of busting her tail to find work. Then she whines and plays a victim.

Originally posted by RUNSILENT
reply to post by boncho

 

i am ready to go anywhere on this planet for a job
30 years i n the car business for nothing
willing to do anything go anywhere
oh yeah and 4 yrs on a nuke sub i guess my stupid old fart lazy basement dwelling bum just needs to go away
just before the dealer closed he said nothing to worry about we are going nowhere
not a job to be had around these parts

So go somewhere else then.

Excuse me if I lack pity for people in these circumstances but I wouldn't want any myself if I were in the same place. And when I was there in the past, I accepted none.

EDIT TO ADD:

Re-read that and realized I am coming off a little self-righteous there.

My point is, self-pity is an all consuming thing. Sometimes we all have to think outside the box or give up all the little idiosyncrasies we've developed over the years.

I know it is tough being out of work, but sometimes you have to look at it from a different angle and things will fall into place.

Originally posted by RUNSILENT
reply to post by boncho

 

i am ready to go anywhere on this planet for a job
30 years i n the car business for nothing
willing to do anything go anywhere
oh yeah and 4 yrs on a nuke sub i guess my stupid old fart lazy basement dwelling bum just needs to go away
just before the dealer closed he said nothing to worry about we are going nowhere
not a job to be had around these parts

I am sorry to hear about your dilemma. When I thought it was the darkest is when it turned around I was on my last week of benefit. I would have lost everything.



I wish you the best of luck and sometimes it does not hurt to pray a little. It does help. I laugh when TPTB say the recession is over.

I really wish people would stop complaining like this. There's so much work available here in SE Virginia it's not even funny. Look on craigslist. My boss has an ad posted 24/7 looking for anyone who is or is willing to learn to be a carpenter, and so do most other contractors. Seriously the construction industry is hurting for people who are willing to work, and round these parts we do a lot of government jobs which pay salary on top of our current salary, being so close to Langley, Oceana, Camp Allen, NOB etc.

And ladies, the bigger contractors like WM Jordan and Armada Hoffler need secretaries, custodians etc. This isn't just a mans world.

There's lots good work out there, just stop being so picky and/or pessimistic.

reply to post by David9176


I was a 99er....

My small manufacturing business tanked after 25 years of a great run. It forced me to reinvent myself, learn new skills, network and enter a completely new environment for employment and/or subcontracting.

It has been one of the most exciting, challenging and personally rewarding experiences I have ever had. Thats not to say I don't still morn for my old gig but change and a challenge are what makes and keeps us strong, resilient and creative.

There is much wrong with the US but anyone not afraid to get their hands dirty and work can still thrive in the entrepreneurial world that is still allowed in America. But given time the conservative right wing fascist will **** that up too as they continue their war on unions in favor of big Corporations paying as little as possible to the people that actually do the work.

Thank God for my local union affiliates AFTRA/SAG and IATSE for the paid training and support.

many of these people are trying to hold onto their homes and avoid financial ruin....often they end up losing everything...further hurting the economy for the rest of the country. The older you are, the more difficult it is to find a job.

As I stated earlier, there is an increased health risk, if it requires physical labor a younger person will most likely be hired first.

Too many are willing to jump the gun on people in this situation "not trying hard enough" or "being lazy."

These are the ones who have been displaced by the outsourcing of American jobs and the recession....yet they are demonized for it.

It's quite easy to criticize someone when you aren't in there shoes...isn't it? These are real people and there are millions out there who are most likely in the same position. There is so much hatred for the actual citizens that make up this country that I often don't believe we even deserve to have a "country" since so much of the beliefs many carry here would only work on a deserted island.

I feel for the posters in this thread looking for work and I hope things turn around for them.

Contempt for the "We The People" that yet make up
This nation is very sad. Everyone is lazy, no good
And a leach, yet nobody denies that there is a poor
Economy and hard times. If you do not fall in line, be
What the system demands, now, you are not worth the flesh
You stroll around in. I want to remind all of us who do
Recognize the humanity in this human condition, that we
Are right, we cannot let this animalistic hate for the lesser
Position drag this country down. We are asked to chastise
And demean The people who have done the right thing for all
Of their lives. If you look very carefully you will see that this
Situation, born of greed, is geared to initiate more greed,
More slashes and cuts to virtually all of us. This is the demand
That is just beneath the surface. It is the crest of a hill, we are
Being herded towards, a slope, which looks a whole lot like the past
We escaped from.

We must reign in our neighbors
Question our lives as extravagant
Expect less out of life
Live by the rules of the jungle
Have pity upon the halls of opulence
Transfer our reserves of power into the hands of the powerful
Knowingly support the policies of further concentration
Of wealth and power
Forget that concentration, means reduction in
All other spheres


Don't let yourself become confused people, this
Hate thine neighbor stuff breeds more and more
Of the same. Look real real carefully, you will see that
This situation is par for the course. It is a set up
To introduce more of these loathing ideas into the everyday.
This is what they want, for you to give more and expect less,
That is what we have. In the coming years they will
Ask for more...your sickened neighbors wil go after you
And thier even their own families. There is a never ending supply
Of demand.

Being middle aged, having friends from two different states from the north east, I can say that the middle aged people who are let go due to corporate down sizing, are hurting! One of my friends (mid 50's) was in the hiring business. She was a general manager for a publication who hired employees for companies. This was a nation wide company, who over the past 3 years has been letting managers go left and right. Closing down entire divisions. Leaving her, after 15 years with this particular company, with out a job. She has been trying to gain employment since before she was let go (she saw the writing on the wall that it was coming down to her being let go). She is typically over qualified to even get an interview. How sad. The interviews she does obtain, she is usually up against 50 other people. She travels to other states to interview, hoping to catch a break. And most employers want someone who is already established in the area. They don't want to wait for her to relocate, not to mention most don't even offer relocation any more.

We have fallen so far in the job market. If you have a good (secure - if there is even such a thing any longer) job, your lucky. If you're trying to re-invent yourself - I wish you well. Being middle-age sure has its draw backs. You are competing with the younger generation who has no experience, willing to take much less in pay, and you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Going from a corporate job, to working for minimum wage or a little bit above, is tough. If you're lucky enough to have a job and hold on to it, you are doubly blessed. Count your blessings.