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5 million won't have a merry Christmas

ricksfolly

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The Democrats in the House didn't get the votes needed to extend unemployment insurance. The vote, 258 to 154 fell short of the needed 60 percent. 21 Republicans joined with the Democrats, but 11 moderate Democrats voted no.

ricksfolly
 
The Democrats in the House didn't get the votes needed to extend unemployment insurance. The vote, 258 to 154 fell short of the needed 60 percent. 21 Republicans joined with the Democrats, but 11 moderate Democrats voted no.

ricksfolly

My mom was on unemployment for at least two years. She spent the time sulking in her house, drinking, and watching sitcom re-runs on television. When the last unemployment check ran out, she cried, then I helped her move some of her things into her mother's (my grandmother) house. Now that the worst is over, she's being far more productive. She's eating healthier, sleeping better, drinking less, going back to school to get a certificate in medical coding and billing, and is working part-time in order to pay off her car payments and insurance premiums.

What's the lesson here? I don't know. Figure it out for yourself. I just know that in those two depressing years, unemployment checks merely stalled the inevitable. In my opinion, those two years were a complete waste. My mom is now 51 years old, with ZERO pension money and ZERO savings. She could have applied to school two years earlier and moved out two years earlier, and she would have been a lot better off.
 
The Democrats in the House didn't get the votes needed to extend unemployment insurance. The vote, 258 to 154 fell short of the needed 60 percent. 21 Republicans joined with the Democrats, but 11 moderate Democrats voted no.

ricksfolly

The title 5,000,000 people won't have a Merry Christmas is ridiculous. If an unemployment check is the only thing standing between them and a Merry Christmas, then I say they are WAY too dependent on government. If they are really poor (which I doubt many are) There are plenty of places to apply to get new toys and clothes for kids. I'm going to adopt a family myself from the Salvation Army, since I have very few people to buy for.
 
The title 5,000,000 people won't have a Merry Christmas is ridiculous. If an unemployment check is the only thing standing between them and a Merry Christmas, then I say they are WAY too dependent on government. If they are really poor (which I doubt many are) There are plenty of places to apply to get new toys and clothes for kids. I'm going to adopt a family myself from the Salvation Army, since I have very few people to buy for.

you have no idea what situation these people are in, if they are poor or not. judge much?
 
you have no idea what situation these people are in, if they are poor or not. judge much?

I try so hard not to. It's difficult when one only has one's subjective experience to draw from.

**A family member who drew unemployment and Social Security at the same time...not even looking for a job.
**A friend who waited the full 22 months, or whatever it is, before she began looking...claiming all the time that she couldn't find anything. Found something a few weeks after her benefits ended. Lost her job for poor performance and bitter because she can't get any more benefits for a period of time.
**Another friend who used his unemployment eligibility up as a paid vacation.
**Several acquaintences who collect unemployment currently and work under the table.

On the other hand, I know the other side of the coin:

**A young man who took a job out of his field for less money after using his benefits for a month or two.
**Two family friends who lost their jobs and started their own businesses losing their benefits after a few months.

I don't know one single person who is unemployed except by choice. It's hard to empathize when what I read on forums is, "Well, I put my resume on Monster and Career Builder and nobody's contacted me. I'm tryyyyying....." as they live with mom and dad or are two-income families.
 
I just know that in those two depressing years, unemployment checks merely stalled the inevitable. In my opinion, those two years were a complete waste.

She at least got checks than, and in the long run that was the only thing that counted. Of course she could have opted out anytime, and do the things she was forced to do after the checks stopped, so that's really not an issue.

ricksfolly
 
She at least got checks than, and in the long run that was the only thing that counted. Of course she could have opted out anytime, and do the things she was forced to do after the checks stopped, so that's really not an issue.

ricksfolly

That is NOT the only thing that counted. The thing that counts is whether or not these checks have any real benefit. In my mother's case, they were just an excuse to remain unemployed so that she could wallow in her own self-pity. The checks prolonged her depression. They prolonged her unemployment. They encouraged her to waste two years of her life in depressing misery, while she did nothing but drink and watch tv. There was not a SINGLE benefit.
 
My mom was on unemployment for at least two years. She spent the time sulking in her house, drinking, and watching sitcom re-runs on television. When the last unemployment check ran out, she cried, then I helped her move some of her things into her mother's (my grandmother) house. Now that the worst is over, she's being far more productive. She's eating healthier, sleeping better, drinking less, going back to school to get a certificate in medical coding and billing, and is working part-time in order to pay off her car payments and insurance premiums..

Oh!! I get it. So your mom's experience is the universal experience. Certainly doesn't explain me figuring out how to work without leaving home again, or my sister who is at month six and petrified that there won't be a month seven. She's having a great deal of difficulty grasping the concept of a first extension. I'm afraid she'll start drinking again (it's only been 25 years since her last one) if somebody doesn't man up and hire her ass.
 
So let's stop the checks?
 
Oh!! I get it. So your mom's experience is the universal experience. Certainly doesn't explain me figuring out how to work without leaving home again, or my sister who is at month six and petrified that there won't be a month seven. She's having a great deal of difficulty grasping the concept of a first extension. I'm afraid she'll start drinking again (it's only been 25 years since her last one) if somebody doesn't man up and hire her ass.

No, my mother's experience is not the universal experience. But she was my personal experience that solidified my current views on the topic.

Perhaps the people you know who are so worried about an extension should retrain themselves and maybe consider moving back in with family (if they haven't already).

Have them take a lesson from my mom, ask them to consider a certificate at a vocational school. The tuition is quite affordable (6K for a medical coding and billing), the loans are easily available (even with bad credit), the training period is relatively short (6 months for the stated certificate), and job placement is guaranteed. Coders make about 35-40K a year, which is better than working at McDonalds and damn better than being totally unemployed.

A person's only option is not unemployment checks.
 
The title 5,000,000 people won't have a Merry Christmas is ridiculous. If an unemployment check is the only thing standing between them and a Merry Christmas, then I say they are WAY too dependent on government. If they are really poor (which I doubt many are) There are plenty of places to apply to get new toys and clothes for kids. I'm going to adopt a family myself from the Salvation Army, since I have very few people to buy for.

To automatically assume that they are all deadbeats or lazy is an insult to hardworking people who are trying to weather out a storm they didn't cause. Not satisfied with your first shot, now you make another assumption that there are plenty of places to get toys toys and clothes for kids.

What you fail to realize is that the extension is unemployment insurance, paid for every week they were all employed, not free money from the government...

ricksfolly
 
To automatically assume that they are all deadbeats or lazy is an insult to hardworking people who are trying to weather out a storm they didn't cause. Not satisfied with your first shot, now you make another assumption that there are plenty of places to get toys toys and clothes for kids.

What you fail to realize is that the extension is unemployment insurance, paid for every week they were all employed, not free money from the government...

ricksfolly

Like any government "insurance plan," people always tend to receive far more than they put in. For instance, my mother worked for 6 months at a PI firm and made roughly 60K a year. She received checks up to 4,000 per month.

And no, MaggieD was not calling them deadbeats. But individuals do have responsibility to care for themselves. It is not the responsibility of the government to provide every materialistic thing to everyone.
 
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We cant afford to pay unemployment forever - the jobs that are out there may not be what Johnny Nojob dreamed of doing as a child, but they are out there. It's time to make some difficult decisions as a country instead of continuing to pass on debt to the next generation(s).
 
Oh!! I get it. So your mom's experience is the universal experience. Certainly doesn't explain me figuring out how to work without leaving home again, or my sister who is at month six and petrified that there won't be a month seven. She's having a great deal of difficulty grasping the concept of a first extension. I'm afraid she'll start drinking again (it's only been 25 years since her last one) if somebody doesn't man up and hire her ass.

OK I got a serious question here. Are people getting cut off at week 7? I thought people could get unemployment for something like 26 wks? That everything after that is extentions given by the federal government.
 
OK I got a serious question here. Are people getting cut off at week 7? I thought people could get unemployment for something like 26 wks? That everything after that is extentions given by the federal government.

There are several tiers of unemployment - I believe currently the maximum number of weeks you can possibly receive unemployment is 99 weeks, if you are classified as Tier 5.

Unemployment Benefits # of Weeks
Regular Unemployment Insurance Benefits 26
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier 1 20
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier 2 14
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier 3 13
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier 4 6
Extended Benefits (13 weeks + 7 additional) 20
Total Number of Weeks 99
 
My mom was on unemployment for at least two years. She spent the time sulking in her house, drinking, and watching sitcom re-runs on television. When the last unemployment check ran out, she cried, then I helped her move some of her things into her mother's (my grandmother) house. Now that the worst is over, she's being far more productive. She's eating healthier, sleeping better, drinking less, going back to school to get a certificate in medical coding and billing, and is working part-time in order to pay off her car payments and insurance premiums.

What's the lesson here? I don't know. Figure it out for yourself. I just know that in those two depressing years, unemployment checks merely stalled the inevitable. In my opinion, those two years were a complete waste. My mom is now 51 years old, with ZERO pension money and ZERO savings. She could have applied to school two years earlier and moved out two years earlier, and she would have been a lot better off.
Are you seriously trying to blame unemployment checks for her bad decisions?
 
Ooh, I didn't know the bolded part
The federal government lends money to the states for unemployment insurance when the states run short of funds. In general, this can happen when the unemployment rate is high. The need for loans can be exacerbated when a state cuts taxes and increases benefits. All loans must be repaid with interest.
Congressional actions to massively increase penalties for states incurring large debts for unemployment benefits led to state fiscal crises in the 1980s
. For most states, the maximum period for receiving benefits is 26 weeks. There is an extended benefit program (authorized through the Social Security Acts) that may be triggered by state economic conditions. Congress has often passed temporary programs to extend benefits during economic recessions. This was done with the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) program in 2002-2003, which has since expired,[21] and remained in force through June 2, 2010, with the Extended Unemployment Compensation 2008 legislation.[22] In July, legislation that provides an extension of federal extended unemployment benefits through November was signed by the President. The extension restored unemployment benefits to the 2.3 million unemployed Americans who had run out of basic unemployment benefits. However, the current extensions in place expire on November 30 unless legislation is passed by Congress providing for an additional extension. Congress is considering extending the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program again.[23]
Unemployment benefits - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Are you seriously trying to blame unemployment checks for her bad decisions?

Not entirely. My mother's bad decisions were her own (including buying expensive food and living a wine life on a beer budget), but the unemployment checks did, IMHO, provide the incentive to lie down when she should have been picking herself up again.

There was no difference between my mom on the first day of losing her job and the first day after the last check ran out. Again, the two years on unemployment were a waste for her, and for many others, I gather.
 
By the way Hoplite, what's with your signature quote?
 
No, my mother's experience is not the universal experience. But she was my personal experience that solidified my current views on the topic.

Perhaps the people you know who are so worried about an extension should retrain themselves and maybe consider moving back in with family (if they haven't already).

She's 53. We're estranged from our family. Her SO works full-time. She has ALWAYS been employed. Since she was 14, she's worked. She did five years at the U. You may not have noticed, but there are more jobs than people. There just are.

I hope as you gain in age and wisdom, you'll realize that your perceptions were never meant to be locked in stone.
 
Like any government "insurance plan," people always tend to receive far more than they put in. For instance, my mother worked for 6 months at a PI firm and made roughly 60K a year. She received checks up to 4,000 per month.

That doesn't make any sense. None. You can only make a percentage of your highest quarter of the past however-many years. Definitely at least one year, possibly more.
 
Not entirely. My mother's bad decisions were her own (including buying expensive food and living a wine life on a beer budget), but the unemployment checks did, IMHO, provide the incentive to lie down when she should have been picking herself up again.

There was no difference between my mom on the first day of losing her job and the first day after the last check ran out. Again, the two years on unemployment were a waste for her, and for many others, I gather.
So you seem to be a Libertarian when it suits you. It was your mother's responsibility to use that money to support herself, live frugally, and look for a job while she received that money. You seem to want to blame the company that made the gun for a child getting ahold of his dad's gun and hurting himself with it.

Personal responsibility seems to go RIGHT out the window when it actually GETS personal.
 
That doesn't make any sense. None. You can only make a percentage of your highest quarter of the past however-many years. Definitely at least one year, possibly more.

I'm not making it up. But I'm not surprised that it doesn't make sense.
 
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