Why Every American Should Support Unemployment Benefits Extensions

I've been writing a series of articles on the issue of the Senate debate on the Unemployment Benefits "Extenders" bill. I have been doing my best to bring you the latest news, to bring to you the resources to help to influence our lawmakers to pass the bill quickly and to encourage you not to lose hope. I went to bed last night, after the Senate had adjourned for the weekend without passing the Unemployment Benefits Extension we all so desperately need, with a million thoughts swimming in my head as to what I wanted to share with you today.

Unfortunately, when I awoke, I had what, perhaps, is a form of "writers block". In my case, I imagine it's just my own worry getting the better of me. Like so many of you, my benefits, my life-line, has been cut off. While I am still TOTALLY optimistic, TOTALLY believing the Senate will soon pass the Unemployment Benefits Extensions and we will get our benefits back retroactively, I guess I let that creeping doubt get to me today.

So I decided, at first, to give myself a little breather. I continued with my reading and researching, though, wanting to stay up to date so I could get back to informing you soon. But then I found myself responding to some comments on an article which were, shall we say, a little unsympathetic to the suffering of the unemployed. I've read a lot of this, too, of course, but I guess it finally got to me. I know that these people just don't understand, since they're not in our position. But I found myself leaving a string of comments responding to the article and comments after it. And I realized, perhaps, I should share these thoughts with you. I'd love to hear what you think once you've read them, too.

So here they are, mostly unedited, the comments I left on another article:

"Post One - I am a staunch, patriotic, liberty-free-enterprise-and-constitution-loving Reagan conservative, who also happens to be one of the long-term unemployed. I have dozens of different resumes made up, each emphasizing different parts of my considerable experience as I apply for every imaginable kind of job - anything, part-time, full-time, temporary or perm, dog-walker to administrator, receptionist to manager, newspaper delivery to whatever. I had a successful career and a staff of people working for me when I was laid off, my own thriving business before that for many years. Most employers I never hear anything back from. Many may respond to say they've had 300 or 400 or more applications so they'll let me know if they are interested but don't bother them anymore. The few that have resulted in interviews or even phone calls, have told me I was under-qualified or overqualified or didn't speak Spanish (*!!!*) or didn't have enough education or the right education. What am I to do?

Post Two - But I trudge on, continuing to apply for anything and everything I can find. I have a RE license so tried for many months to sell real estate. I even had a number of people in escrow but then THEY ALL GOT LAID OFF (the husbands of each of these four couples who were in contract)!! I spent thousands on MLS and Realtor and office fees, gas and other expenses and never made any money. Couldn't afford to renew MLS to go on. Tried other businesses. But now savings and retirement are gone. I'm bankrupt, but can't afford to file it. I lost my beautiful car - Never missed a payment but my credit was ruined when it came time to buy out the lease - and I have no way to buy another even cheap car so I am stranded in my home. I am a single mother, sole support of my little family as my ex was a charlatan that left me with hundreds of thousands of dollars of his debt which I was chipping away at for years with no child or spousal support. And now, this week, unemployment benefits have been cut off.

Post Three - I have never believed in the welfare state, and I don't now. I wish FDR had never started that mentality with all his programs which, while they helped a few temporarily, really only deepened and extended what would have been a recession into the Great(est) Depression (so far ... Obama is trying to take us into an even Greater one, near as I can tell). The thing is, here we are and some 25 million - 25 MILLION - Americans, most of them hardworking middle class people that have paid their taxes and played by the rules all their lives, are now falling into abject poverty. I'm sure there are some that are milking the system. But I've read hundreds of comments from people who, like me, are trying so hard but THERE SIMPLY ARE NO JOBS. Remember, the private sector created just 41,000 jobs last month. With 25 million people trying to take them? (I'm talking about real unemployment, not the watered down numbers the government reports.)

Post Four - So, given these circumstances, I am in favor of long term unemployment benefits. If these 25 million are allowed to fall off the roles, that will mean millions MORE bankruptcies, millions MORE foreclosures, millions and millions who, like me - a regular, educated, responsible person that could very well live down your street - will wind up living with my child ON the street. Without that little bit of unemployment, YOUR property values will continue to decline. Without that little bit of unemployment, that much LESS money will go into the local economy where I pay for my utilities, my groceries, my mortgage and YOUR job could be next. Unemployment is the one form of "stimulus" that actually works in that it is said to provide a benefit to the greater economy of $1.95 per dollar spent.

Post Five - Now, don't get me wrong - I would MUCH rather be back working and comfortable, as most of you apparently are, and not know what I know about what a living hell unemployment is. And I'm not done fighting. I will continue to try to find a job and I will continue to try to find other ways to make a living and pull myself back up again. From my own anecdotal observations, it seems it's those of us over 50 that are having the hardest time being hired back into the workforce. (I know, teens, too, but they have more options and much lighter financial and familial burdens than we do.) But Obama and his Dem cronies aren't even started on the destruction they intend for this country. He is, as you know, right now INTENTIONALLY putting millions more on the unemployment roles and sending jobs overseas, by shutting down oil drilling and exploration. He and the Dems in Congress are going to try to kill millions more jobs and raise our costs of living with Cap and Trade (or something similar).

Post Six - Obama and the dems now want to tax and control the internet, destroying more jobs, raising more costs and cutting off free speech to boot. (For anyone that disagrees with them, anyway.) So much more to say, but I'll wind it up with this. Please, please support your fellow Americans, like this single mom, that need unemployment benefits for as long as it takes until there are actually jobs to take or businesses we can start so we can feed our families. This is one worthy cause right now, to prevent even greater economic collapse of this nation. The Republicans in the Senate are doing the right thing, to simply ask that the bill extending unemployment benefits should be paid for. They have offered several bills and amendments to do just that using unallocated stimulus (aka pork/pay off) money and cuts in government spending. This is all I'm asking. NOT for a hand out, but a hand up. Please don't disdain us. We are just you, on another day, if we don't all stand together."

So those were my thoughts, shared with folks who I felt may not understand about the importance of unemployment benefits extensions and how much we need the "extenders" bill to pass. I hope I got through to some of them. I hope some of what I said may have touched you, too. I would encourage you to try to talk to them, also. But not to blast them for their concern about the deficit while we are hurting. It's a legitimate concern. Not to blast them for not wanting to grow the welfare state. That's a legitimate concern, too. But I hope you will take your story and your case to them and draw them in rather than push them away. We need to all stand together, all of us who are already suffering and those that are at least getting by, until we can unwind this mess our government has been making for us for many years. That's the beauty and the greatness of America. We shall overcome!