800,000 Jobless Americans to Lose Aid (RATS SMELL BLOOD)

ABC News ^ | 12/28/02 | AP

[HiTech RedNeck]

What is wrong with jobs in nursing homes or driving a truck? If you are qualified and it is a job, take it. Having a temporary job or a job outside your field, doesn't stop you from still looking for a better job.

Sounds great in principle. In practice, workers who earned a high wage but got laid off in hard times will be passed over for these low paying jobs, because the employers know these workers will quit as soon as times get better or otherwise do find that elusive high paying job. It's called being overqualified. This can't be fixed without making it illegal to discriminate in hiring based on being overqualified.

[HiTech RedNeck]

In other words, they should take responsibility for themselves and get busy instead of waiting for the government to take care of them.

Whatever Uncle Sam does, unemployment benefits at the state level are conducted as an insurance program not a general tax funded dole. The payments max out well below the poverty level, and to get benefits the beneficiary must be available for work and documentably looking for work. If these benefits go away then the recipients will fall on welfare which is even worse.

[litehaus]

"We have a sad situation on our hands, folks. If you have a job, get down on your knees and thnk God!"

Should have been doing that when they had a job-- wanna bet prayer came only afterwards for most of them?

[Republic of Texas]

Bears repeating;

" The Dems have defined the argument, and the spineless GOP was sucked right in. It's win-win for dems and the welfare queens; and nothing but losses for Conservatives and productive Americans. "

[Iscool]

Some of these people just can't seem to grasp the situation...

When someone in your family loses a job, it's a recession...When you lose your job, it a DEPRESSION...

And some of them say, go back to school, or start a business...And why not??? And with the money that's left over, I can maybe purchase that little oasis out in Death Valley that I hear is for sale...

[SheLion]

ME:"We have a sad situation on our hands, folks. If you have a job, get down on your knees and thank God!"

You: Should have been doing that when they had a job-- wanna bet prayer came only afterwards for most of them?

Me: Didn't I say that? LOL!

[kylaka]

Ya think any new outlet will couple this news with the fact that jobless claims went down last week for the first time since September 2001? I doubt it. Unemployment compenstaion does almost as much damage as it does good.

[EVO X]

Some of these people just can't seem to grasp the situation...

If your under 35 and can't find a job, there is always the military. I am sure they are hiring these days. I would say give a hand virsus expecting a handout.

[robertpaulsen]

Benefits were already extended in March of this year, 13 weeks added to 26.

When would it be OK with you to stop these extensions?

[aruanan]

800,000 Jobless Americans to Lose Aid (RATS SMELL BLOOD)

AKA: 800,000 Americans have just about used up their allotted unemployment benefits without bothering to get another job. The Democrats managed to get the benefits extended in order to keep a pool of unemployed on hand for political purposes.

[Republic of Texas]

My Real Estate business cratered last year. Being self employed I didn't have the option of unemployment, and there were no jobs here either. I got a job waiting tables. See, sometimes we have to buck up and take a lesser job than we would really like. When most people whine, there are no jobs, that's code for, there are jobs, I just think I'm too good to take them.

Business is back now, and I never had to depend on ANY government welfare in the meantime. (still have the waiting job 1 or 2 days per week)

[bassmaner]

And if this is not a good reason to crack down on illegal aliens and DEPORT them immediately, then I don't know what is.

[Republic of Texas]

Couldn't agree more.

[Rome2000]

Nobody cares about this issue except the chronically long term unemployed who were riding the gravy train until the last drop.

Bush is just paying lip service to this, the extension is not going to happen.

A full time shift at Mcdonalds pays the same weekly as the max weekly unemployment benefit. People will have to get a job is all.

This is a non-issue to everybody except the stupid rats and their partners in crime in the press.

[DandG13]

Had a well dressed, immaculate groomed man probably about 50 wait on me in deli of grocery couple of months ago. He was new and struggling with the learning of a new job. There was no doubt he was ex executive. Told my son that this was a man to be respected and why so. There's jobs and there's companys still hiring. I wonder if overqualified is more the applicant conveying too demeaning. Gotta get back to the ethic of a good day's work for a good day's pay.

[Republic of Texas]

I wasn't thrilled about waiting tables 5 nights a week last year. I was twice as old as most of my co-workers. I was older than most of the managers. It was a job, and got me through the tough times and I'm grateful for that.

[FITZ]

This is a non-issue to everybody except the stupid rats and their partners in crime in the press.

Joblessness and falling salaries, home foreclosures might be a non-issue to some ----but it's not a non-issue to those in that spot and the Republicans better realize it if they want to win the next election. I know the democrats are only liars but when you get desperate and gullible voters, the results could be terrible.

[Republic of Texas]

When the government is supposed to "find" every American a job, we are doomed. Conclusion? We are doomed.