Bingo.
Your statement makes it sound as if things are just fine in the Obama economy and it's these unemployed who just want something for nothing, as if these unemployed aren't victims at all. I'm fairly sure nothing is further from the truth.
The hostility being expressed by some here and elsewhere is misdirected. Instead of blaming the unemployed, why are so few identifying the real cause of a terrible jobs market and placing blame where it belongs...the resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
As someone who is older and has been unemployed for over a year I thank you. It is very difficult as an older worker to find a job and for those who want to tell me to work at mcdonalds etc, let me tell you, mcdonalds isn't going to waste their time and money on me because they know as soon as the economy turns around I'm outta there and secondly, I speak English! There is an incredible amount of age discrimination, I've experienced it over the last year, can't prove it, my word against theirs but I can tell you it's blatantly obvious employers are not interested in older workers, they want the young so they can mold them, they want the young who don't know any better, they want the young who will take the BS.
People on unemployment are not making money hand over fist like some people believe. Here in MA you get half of what you were making and there is a limit....if you were making $500. a week you get $250.00 on unemployment BEFORE taxes, trying paying your bills on that....or if you were making over $1306.00 a week the max you can get from unemployment in MA is $653.00 a week BEFORE taxes....imagine a sales person making $100k a year = $1923 a week and here in MA that person would only get $653. a week, trying paying your bills on that and feeding your family, etc. In other states the formula is a lot different and the amounts are a lot smaller. And AFAIK no one is getting 99 weeks anymore, IIRC they did away with that.
“As someone who is older and has been unemployed for over a year I thank you.”
How about moving to somewhere where there is work? For example, the unemployment rate in Fargo, ND is about 2%. Here in Silicon Valley, CA, every business I see has a help wanted sign on their window.
How about learning a skill? Tax season is coming up and tax preparers are looking for people. The illegals working in McDonalds all want to file their taxes for the earned income tax credit so combining Spanish with tax skills will get you a job. Go with the small businesses. They are a lot more flexible than the big companies like HRBlock.
The bottom line is that unemployment benefits are not designed for long term. If you cannot find a job at all, then you need to apply for welfare.