BlogHer - Election 2008: What will the candidates do to solve the problem of unemployment? - Comments

Steve you make some great

Dana J. Tuszke — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:28:50 -0500

Steve you make some great points! I've had the same discussion with my father, too. How can our government expect our country to thrive when it pads the pockets of foreign labor companies just because it's cheaper! No wonder our dollar is practically worthless.

Thank you for sharing your concerns and for the great tip!

Jobs Overseas

SteveP — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:35:25 -0500

I used to work in manufacturing. The peopel running the company were definitely concerned with being a "clean, safe" operation. However, none of the people representing the State were even remotely rational. EVERYTHING we produced was regarded as hazardous - even the trash. We had to spend incredible amounts of cash, expand every operation, just to make them happy. They did not need to present a real reason - just a list. After a few years, we could go to a local hardware store and purchase a box a wood screws (made out of the same metal we made) for less than the COST OF THE METAL ITSELF! There has been a slant towards 'trying to look environmentally-conscious' by politicians (mostly one party), and the result has been to ship the work to another country where rabid enforcement is not the case. (It is sad, becasue those countries often have NO enforcement at all).

Next time you vote, check to see if the person you vote for enev remotely understands what it takes to manufacture a product. And be reasonable about how to go about it!

Gena, thank you for your

Dana J. Tuszke — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:15:02 -0500

Gena, thank you for your comments and the good advice. I know that things are looking better for me, but I still worry about the millions of Americans who don't have the same advantages. It's not right -- we send trillions of dollars overseas and we can't even take care of our own!

I agree that Ron Paul hasn't

Dana J. Tuszke — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:13:27 -0500

I agree that Ron Paul hasn't gotten a fair shake. I confess that at first I thought he was kind of "out there". But after giving him a chance he had great visions and ideas. But Americans wan a bulldozer (or is the term trail blazer? I'm not sure) for president, someone to clean up the mess of our current administration I guess.

Thanks PunditMom, I've

Dana J. Tuszke — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:11:33 -0500

Thanks PunditMom, I've actually had to the time to focus on other opportunities, so it's true that this is a blessing in disguise -- but so many other Americans are worse off than me. They need help and sadly, our government, our nation, isn't doing anything for them. It makes me ill.

Larry, I appreciate your

Dana J. Tuszke — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:09:03 -0500

Larry, I appreciate your comments and your concerns, however dividing the country with an "Us vs. Them" mentality isn't going to solve this problem or others. For so long, I've been swayed by the "anti-liberal" mantra and for what? It doesn't change the fact that our country is in dire straits. We need to reinforce the foundation, not build on top of a cracked one.

We need to work together. I know it seems impossible, but imagine if we really made the effort! What do you think would happen? I think we'd learn to consider more than two points of view -- we could leverage the ideas of many to create solutions for all.

If that makes me sound naive, I'll blissfully accept that. But I truly think that dividing into Democrats vs. Republicans only causes more damage to an already struggling nation.

Hang In There Kid...

Gena Haskett — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:42:35 -0500

I've been through a recession with a 9/11 kicker. It took a long time and a lot of faith to hold on until things changed.

I would encourage you to look at short term career training programs at your local junior and community college. Many of those program have job and career training that is paid for by the state and local governments.

The positive side of your taxes at work. Many state will wave or extend unemployment job benefits if you are going through a job training program. These are typically short term. California is good about this but I don't know if it is true for the other states.

This will do two things, show employers that you are "current" in your skill set and also forces you not to spend all day worrying about how are you going to make ends meet.

Another option is your local college and university. You should also find out if they have programs that help folks get their degree or have affordable online options for getting the parchment. Do not discount your work experience, it could be useful for credits toward your degree.

I have so much to say about this but I gotta control myself. I know how you feel and I am to tell you that for the moment you are in good shape. The kids are good, the hubby is working and there is food in the fridge and there is a roof over your heads.

It helps to find a positive aspect to your situation every day. This is where faith connects the rubber to the road.

Blessings...

Gena - Out On The Stoop

She Is Out of Work Now...

Gena Haskett — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:21:41 -0500

Not after the election but now. Conservatives are losing jobs. Liberals are losing jobs. Many American business are sending work overseas to other countries. The Subprime mess was created by fraud working on ignorance. So here we stand.

A recession does not care about party affiliation. You local supermarket does not care if you can only afford hot dogs and beans and you are a libertarian.

You are correct, Presidents do not create jobs but their policies, focus on domestic issues and the limit of unchecked patronage to Halliburton and related companies does have an effect.

It doesn't matter if McCain, Clinton or Obama takes the oath in January 2009. We all have to refine our cooping and survival skills today. We've tried living polarized and divided for eight years. It doesn't work.

What else do you bring to the table?
Gena - Out On The Stoop

No respect at all (again)

merska — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:19:33 -0500

I just love how Ron Paul is listed as "None of the above."
So he's my choice. Go ahead, tell me "I'm wasting my vote."
I feel that I would be wasting my vote more by only choosing from the options the media determines "worthy" of coverage.

NAFTA has been a raw deal for American jobs. Corporations find it cheaper to move out of the country, hire foreign workers and sell to American consumers from outside of the country than from inside of it.

No one wants to cover Paul's ideas about free market capitalism. They would just rather call him a "kook." That's much easier than trying to interpret Paul's solutions for our country, isn't it?

I'm so sorry

PunditMom — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:11:25 -0500

Dana, I'm so sorry. I've lost my job in the past and know that feeling in the pit of the stomach. I do really fear what's going to happen in this country.

In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

PunditMom
http://punditmom1.blogspot.com
Contributing Editor, Politics & News

Jobs

LarryG — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:47:44 -0500

Presidents do not create jobs, no matter how much they lie to you about it. American businesses create jobs.
Presidents can make jobs go away, however.
If you think you have seen jobs disappear, you haven't seen anything copmpared t what the liberals will do in cahoots with the democrat controlled congress.
These nitwits are about as anti business as anyone can get. Hillary the enabler plans to take billions away from businesses. Obama will do the same. More government regulation, more taxes, and silly legislation as a result of the hoax of US influenced global warming will run the unemployment rate to ten or fifteen percent. So, all of you Clinton and Obama fans, go vote. You'll have no one to blame but yourselves when the job market really tanks.

Nunya, thank you for sharing

Dana J. Tuszke — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:48:01 -0500

Nunya, thank you for sharing your experience. It's rather depressing to think that even after graduating and having the credentials you need to get a job in your field, not many or none at all are available. I can't imagine having to move thousands of miles just to work and pay off the educational debt, with no family or friends nearby.

I do hope that something opens up for you! Chicago sounds like a great step, are there only so few positions available there? Hopefully everything will work out in your favor.

And...I agree, the Iraq war is mostly to blame for things going awry in our country. We need a presidential candidate who can remedy this and get our troops back home -- but I also wonder, when our troops do come home, will there be jobs available to them? There are so many unanswered questions!

It seems as if every time I

nunya — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:06:32 -0500

It seems as if every time I graduate from a university, the economy is bad and I have trouble finding a job. Of course, this is all under the same President, which is definitely an indication that he has been in the White House too long because I actually took a couple years off between college and law school. Going back to school is often suggested, but even if you have the resources for that it's a huge risk and there's not much you can do to make the odds higher that you'll graduate with more than just debt and a degree. And it's not like I attended bad or average schools; I have attended "prestigious" schools. But the one thing "prestigious" schools guarantee you is you'll owe a lot of money when you graduate.

I agree with you about relocating, an option I didn't consider when I graduated from college but unfortunately will now have to consider since I am graduating from law school and just have too much debt to be picky. I live in Michigan right now, and I love it here. Unfortunately, trying to find a job in Michigan is almost as bad as it was in my hometown (in Tennessee) when I graduated from college. I have never been west of the Mississippi and have never really wanted to be, but I see way too many open positions and--get way too many job interviews--for jobs in California to follow my heart and take the Michigan Bar (or Illinois Bar so I can practice in Chicago, which would be my first choice). Having spent the past two & 1/2 years in Michigan, being from Tennessee and spending a lot of time/having family in Chicago (just 4 hours away from where I am in Michigan by car), imagine how devastating the thought of moving all the way to California all by myself and not being the slightest bit close to any family is. It can be hard, period, regardless of having a husband, kids or being single.

Honestly, I never thought of which President would work on unemployment, probably somewhat because unemployment does not seem to be among the top issues of any of the candidates when you listen to them speak. I also think it's because, as with Bush's tenure, the #1 priority will be dealing with Iraq, and Iraq really has eclipsed almost every other issue this decade even though it encompasses many issues. But it also doesn't matter what the candidates (or their websites) say--look at their other stances, and that will tell you something about what truly will happen if they make it into office. For example, if John McCain is pro-war, then our issues with Iraq are likely to continue with him in office. Yet, the war in Iraq is the very same issue that has played a big role in jobs going overseas, recessions, an unstable economy, a budget deficit and unemployment rates rising and falling repeatedly during this decade.

Good luck, everyone!

Virginia, I'm glad you

Dana J. Tuszke — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:34:48 -0500

Virginia, I'm glad you brought this up. When I was visiting a local job center a few weeks ago, I was surprised to learn that so many of those unemployed in my town are age 40 and over -- and these workers often take the first available job even if it's temporary or something they won't enjoy doing, just because it brings home a paycheck.

I do have insurance through my husband and I always tell potential employers that I don't need those types of benefits. Sometimes they are shocked when they hear me say it, especially when so many Americans are in desperate need of insurance coverage.

Kim, thank you very much for

Dana J. Tuszke — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:30:53 -0500

Kim, thank you very much for letting us know about this program. It's definitely worth checking into. I've contemplated going back to college to finish my education and obtain my degree so many times. Unfortunately the timing has been terrible and the financial costs too much to bear, but I'm not ruling it out completely. It's nice to know there are resources available to help women in situations like mine.

Election 2008: What will the candidates do to solve the problem of unemployment?

Dana J. Tuszke — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:45:02 -0500

Last month, I lost my job. My employer told me the company had a financial bleed, that the competition was fierce in our region, and because of the struggling economy, he could no longer afford to keep me on staff. Therefore, he axed my position. I was devastated. Not only because I loved my job, but also because my income contributed to my family's well-being.

After hearing this terrible news I was not only shocked, but quickly began to fear the unknown. I entered the workforce at 15 years old. In the last fourteen years, I've never been jobless. The money I made helped pay our bills. I didn't know how to tell my husband I was no longer employed. I didn't know if we could make it with just one income, especially with the economy as it is today.

We have a mortgage, we have utilities, we have student loan payments. We were doing our best to pay our debts and still save money for retirement, our son's college fund and a future dream vacation. No sooner than I entered the ranks of the unemployed I started thinking of luxuries we'd have to cut. Cable television? Gone. Internet access? See ya later. Cell phones? Out the window. The gym membership? Time to cancel. Dinner out a few times a month? Are you kidding me?

The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach plagued me for days. After crying and wallowing in self-pity, I obsessively scanned the want-ads and found absolutely nothing suitable for me.

There were numerous positions asking for an RN, LPN or CNA with a nursing degree. A lawyer was seeking a legal secretary with a Bachelor's Degree. Unfortunately, I never finished college because I couldn't afford it. There were openings for OTR truck driver's but I don't have a commercial driver's license. I considered working third shift in a factory, until I discovered that experience with a skill saw was required.

When I searched for the jobs that required no professional qualifications, I was quickly disappointed. No wait staff positions, no hotel housekeeping positions, nothing in retail. There were a few part-time openings for a local gas station but it was weekends only, something I couldn't do with a husband who works every weekend and no daycare available on Saturday or Sunday.

I applied for a position as a bank teller, only to discover the competition was overwhelming and the job was filled within seven days. I wasn't even called for an interview, but received a letter stating "at this time we chose a candidate with more experience in the workings of a financial institution."

It's discouraging to realize that I'm somewhat unemployable. I don't have the necessary skills for some jobs and others are not accommodating to my needs as a wife and mother. What's worse is the guilt I felt for not being able to fill even the few minimum wage jobs available.

In a way, I didn't believe I had the right to be picky, and I felt somewhat obligated to take the first job available just to bring home a paycheck. Even if it meant pawning off my son to my parents so that I could work 10 hour days on the weekend, I was prepared to do it. I didn't think I had a choice.

Of course, I filed for unemployment, but that turned out to be a grueling process. When I had to speak to the claims representative on the telephone I felt embarrassed about answering some of his questions.

This man wanted to know why I was out of a job and whether or not I intended to go back to work. He asked if my resume was uploaded onto the various employment websites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder. He informed me of the requirements that I had to meet, such as contacting two employers per week and filing a weekly benefit claim every Sunday. Should I fail to complete one of the requirements, I would no longer be eligible to receive unemployment benefits.

The first payment didn't arrive for two weeks and it was gone before I signed my name on the back of the check. Bills were piling up and my hair was getting grayer with every second I worried about my financial future.

This is what so many Americans go through every single day. Unfortunately, many of these Americans are worse off than I am. Thankfully, I have a husband who still has a job and is able to cover the bulk of our mortgage and utilities. I had to contact our student loan holders to ask for a deferral until I got a job.

I couldn't help but wonder if the loss of jobs is the biggest factor in so many home foreclosures, in addition to the variable interest rate debacle. Then I began to worry if unemployment contributes to families tearing apart because there's no money to pay the bills, and despair has settled into their hearts.

I couldn't stop thinking about the jobless Americans in Michigan and Ohio because industrial jobs are being moved overseas, or because of buyouts and mergers, or the companies can't afford as many workers on their payrolls during a recession.

Just last month in a town near me, 300 jobs were lost because of a factory closure. The company decided to move operations to a country with cheaper labor.

I remember reading the following in The Onion earlier this year:

In what some economists believe to be a sign that the U.S. could be headed for a recession, a job opening last month at the Findlay-area Bob Evans prompted a deluge of more than 3 million job applications from out-of-work Americans, restaurant manager Tom Fields confirmed Tuesday.

Within three days of placing a "Help Wanted" sign at the Bob Evans front entrance, Fields reportedly received more than 800,000 resumés for the part-time hostess job. The newly available position offers no health benefits, minimum-wage pay, and a dress code that mandates both the standard red-and-white Bob Evans kerchief and "a smile," as well as a 15 percent discount on all meals eaten during one's shift.

I know it's intended to be funny, but it's not really that far fetched.

What are our elected politicians doing to combat this growing unemployment crisis? The answer: Next to nothing.

Bob Herbert wrote in the New York Times:

The stock markets continue to tumble. The dollar has weakened. The subprime mortgage debacle has morphed into a full-fledged panic. And Joe Stiglitz is telling us the war in Iraq will cost $3 trillion.

Maybe now we can stop listening to the geniuses who insisted that the way to nirvana was to ignore the broad national interest while catering to the desires of those who were already the wealthiest among us.

We have always gotten a distorted picture of how well Americans were doing from politicians and the media. The U.S. has a population of 300 million. Thirty-seven million, many of them children, live in poverty. Close to 60 million are just one notch above the official poverty line. These near-poor Americans live in households with annual incomes that range from $20,000 to $40,000 for a family of four.

The economic pain and anxiety felt for so long by the poor and the near-poor has been spreading like a stain in the middle class as well. It’s hardly been a secret. But neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have stepped up to this fundamental long-term challenge, and that includes the three remaining candidates for president.

No one will tackle the crucial issue of employment in a serious way. The cornerstone of a middle-class life in America (and that means the cornerstone of the American dream) is a good job. The American dream is on life support because men and women by the millions who want very much to work — who still have in their heads the ideal of a thriving family in a nice home with maybe a picket fence — are unable to find a decent job.

David Leonhardt writes this, also in the NY Times:

The dismal jobs report released Friday showed overall employment to be lower than it was three months ago. Every time such a slump has occurred since the early 1970s, a recession has followed — or already been under way.

And if the good times have really ended, they were never that good to begin with. Most American households are still not earning as much annually as they did in 1999, once inflation is taken into account.

Employment has risen by 100,000, but even that comes with a caveat: there are also 600,000 more people who are working part time because they could not find full-time work, according to the Labor Department.

“The decline in the unemployment rate,” said Joshua Shapiro, an economist at MFR, a research firm in New York, “should not be viewed as good news.”

Peter S. Goodman writes in yet another NY Times article:

Nicole Flennaugh has a college degree, office experience and the modest expectation that, somewhere in this city on the eastern lip of San Francisco Bay, someone will want to hire her.

But Ms. Flennaugh, 36, a widow, cannot secure steady, decent-paying work to support herself and her two daughters. Nearly two years after she was laid off as a customer service representative at the Educational Testing Service, and even after applying for dozens of full-time jobs, she has been getting by with occasional stints as an office temp.

“You’re used to making $17 an hour with benefits, and now you have to take any job for $8 an hour,” Ms. Flennaugh says. On a recent afternoon, she sat in front of a computer terminal at an employment center in a gritty part of town, scrolling dejectedly through online job listings while sending another batch of applications into the ether.

“I’ve literally sat and cried, but my friends with double degrees are doing worse,” she says. “It’s the economy. It’s really bad.”

From McClatchy:

Bill Clinton's campaign famously defined the 1992 election with the phrase, "It's the economy, stupid." Today, "It's the jobs, stupid."

The latest employment figures, released in late January, showed a 52-month streak of job creation ending with a loss of 17,000 jobs in January. The Bush administration acknowledged the contraction, but pointed to the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent to say that the labor market wasn't a harbinger of recession.

A closer look at unemployment data by McClatchy, however, found that jobless Americans are spending more time looking for work and that those who can't find work now make up a greater share of the unemployed.

Several measures of unemployment, in fact, show that the workforce is under the kind of stress not seen since March 2001, when the U.S. economy entered a nine-month recession, followed by a so-called jobless recovery.

The long-term unemployed amounted to 18.3 percent of all the unemployed in January. That means that while overall unemployment is low, almost one in five unemployed workers has been jobless for six months or more.

So many Americans struggling, but no immediate solutions at hand.

Senator Barack Obama's website doesn't directly address the issue of unemployment, but it does say this:

"There are 37 million poor Americans. Most poor Americans are in the workforce, yet still cannot afford to make ends meet. And too many poor Americans are single mothers who are raising children."

Within his plan to combat poverty, Obama plans to make jobs more accessible by investing $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce.

But what if there are no jobs available? Especially when Very Large Corporation receives a tax cut for sending employment to India or another foreign country. Career training and support is great in theory, but how can we make more jobs available to Americans?

Senator Clinton also does not directly address unemployment.

From her website:

Hillary has a plan to restore America's middle class. After six and a half years of Bush administration policies, the middle class is struggling to succeed in an economy that is leaving more and more Americans behind.

Income inequality has risen to the highest levels since 1929, and wages have stagnated. In the meantime, health care premiums and college tuition have skyrocketed, squeezing middle class families who have largely relied on their home equity to make ends meet. The burgeoning problems in the housing market further threaten many middle class families.

Understanding that a vibrant middle class is essential to America's prosperity, Hillary will implement a broad set of policies to once again restore opportunity for all Americans.

She does mention a plan to harness innovation for high wage jobs in the 21st century.

Hillary mentions the reliance on home equity loans. As a recently unemployed American, my husband and I have decided to borrow against the equity in our house to consolidate all of our debt. We feel it's easier to make one payment each month than five or six with a reduced income. It's true that Americans often have to borrow from Peter to pay Paul and it doesn't always work in their favor.

But not every American is a home owner with equity to rely on. And with the mortgage crisis, Americans are not willing to buy into the American Dream of a two-story house with a white picket fence. The risk is just too high.

From CNN Money:

Mortgage application volume fell 2.9% during the week ending March 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey. The MBA's application index fell to 652 from 671.7 the previous week. Refinance volume fell 4.6%, while purchase volume declined 1% during the week. Refinance applications accounted for 49.7% of total applications, the first time all year that purchase application volume was larger than refinance volume.

Senator McCain's website offers a plan to assist unemployed Americans:

John McCain will overhaul unemployment insurance and make it a program for retraining, relocating and assisting workers who have lost a job. The unemployment insurance system needs to be modernized to meet the goals of helping displaced workers make ends meet between jobs and moving people quickly on to the next opportunity. John McCain will reform the half-dozen training programs to approaches that can be used to meet the bills, pay for training, and get back to work. John McCain believes that we can strengthen community colleges and technical training, and give displaced workers more choices to find their way back to productive and prosperous lives.

McCain suggests assistance in relocating jobless Americans, but why should workers have to make these kinds of sacrifices?

In my job hunt, I found several positions open in other cities over 50 miles away. This would require a relocation, something that isn't feasible, especially when my husband has over 20 years in at his job. We'd spend more money just to sell our house and move. Not only that, we'd be moving away from our support network of family and friends to start over, and there's no guarantee that we'd be any better off.

Our economy needs an overhaul. Several bloggers have written about unemployment, their own recent job losses, their frustrations and the struggles they face.

Savvy Frugality writes:

According to the Labor Department, 63,000 jobs disappeared in the U.S. in February. Although more people left the workforce, unemployment filings were down slightly, but many analysts point to the loss of jobs as yet another sign that the U.S. is either headed for recession, or is already in one.

Losing a job in a recession is rough. I speak from experience. I lost my job during a recession and didn't find full time work for six months. It's not that I wasn't employable. I had a lot of experience in my field. There just weren't as many jobs to be had because during a recession, not only are employers not hiring, but they are cutting back on the number of people they keep on the payroll.

Jim Burklo writes:

Recently, I lost my job, or my job lost me. I’m still not sure which description is more accurate. In any case, it’s my first experience with unemployment. I’m blessed with very supportive family and friends. But it’s still been a trying time.

People want to say and do the right things. Their attempts at compassion are sincere. While I am learning to receive gratefully their underlying intentions, some of their expressions make me wince. And make me muse about what helps, and what doesn’t work so well, in offering sympathy to people in crisis.

Consider these words which have been said to me, in one form or another, quite a few times in recent weeks: “When God closes one door, He always opens another.” When I first heard this one from one of my parishioners, right after my employment imploded, I was taken aback. What about the people in Baghdad? I thought. When their doors are kicked in by men with machine guns, does God magically open another door for them to exit gracefully? All too often, the answer is no. Lots of people lose their jobs and go bankrupt. Do we worship a God who washes away the front door of your nice house in New Orleans with a devastating flood, and then opens a trailer door for you in a bleak vacant lot, months later? Are we expecting divine intervention to solve our personal or social problems, or are we taking action to make sure that when a door is closed, another one will open to something good?

Molly Elizabeth writes:

Yesterday, on my 25th Birthday, I lost my job. I ~~have~~ had two jobs. I lost the one that makes me smile. The Wine Bar, a family-owned company, had not been in the best straits. The business started as a deli, and while sandwiches thrived during the day, the business was lacking during the evening hours. The Owner, who was personally guaranteed for the five-year lease, was desperate to find an alternative money-making option. As The Owner’s nephew was trained (and talented) in the fine-dining culinary world, The Wine Bar began. The double-sided business would have closed without evening revenue. We lost money every month. With only fifteen tables and a Minnesotan dinner-at-6:00 mentality, we were never going to make an excessive profit. And although The Owner never lost as much as he would if The Wine Bar wasn’t open, he didn’t rationalize the potential or opportunity costs in that way.

Even small business owners are struggling. With a government that offers tax cuts to the big corporations, the little guy takes a beating, closes his doors and more Americans are jobless. The cycle never ends.

What can our government do to save the millions of desperate, job-seeking Americans?